Arfak catbird

The Arfak catbird (Ailuroedus arfakianus) is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in the Bird's Head (Vogelkop) Peninsula in western New Guinea.

Arfak catbird
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ptilonorhynchidae
Genus: Ailuroedus
Species:
A. arfakianus
Binomial name
Ailuroedus arfakianus
Meyer, AB, 1874
Subspecies

See text

This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the spotted catbird before being reclassified as a distinct species in 2016. Martin Irestedt and colleagues examined the black-eared, spotted- and green catbird species complex genetically and found there were seven distinct lineages: the green catbird (A. crassirostris) of eastern Australia and the spotted catbird (A. maculosus) of eastern Queensland being the earliest offshoots, followed by the Huon catbird (A. astigmaticus) and black-capped catbird (A. melanocephalus) of eastern New Guinea, the Arfak catbird (A. arfakianus), the northern catbird (A. jobiensis) of central-northern New Guinea, and black-eared catbird (A.melanotis) of southwestern New Guinea, Aru Islands and far North Queensland.[1]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized:[2]

  • Ailuroedus arfakianus misoliensis – Mayr & Meyer de Schauensee, 1939: found on Misool Island (Papua)
  • Ailuroedus arfakianus arfakianus – Meyer, AB, 1874: found in the Vogelkop Mountains of northwest New Guinea

References
  1. Irestedt, Martin; Batalha-Filho, Henrique; Roselaar, Cees S.; Christidis, Les; Ericson, Per G. P. "Contrasting phylogeographic signatures in two Australo-Papuan bowerbird species complexes (Aves: Ailuroedus)". Zoologica Scripta. doi:10.1111/zsc.12163.
  2. IOC v.6.3
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