Vini (bird)

(Redirected from Vini (genus))

Vini is a genus of birds in the family Psittaculidae that are endemic to the islands of the tropical Pacific. There are eleven extant species of these small lorikeets ranging from the Bismark Archipelago through Fiji, Samoa, French Polynesia, and as far east as Henderson Island. All members of the genus have exceptional bright plumage, particularly the unusual all over blues of the blue lorikeet and the ultramarine lorikeet.

Vini
Blue-crowned lorikeet (Vini australis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittaculidae
Tribe: Loriini
Genus: Vini
Lesson, RP, 1833
Type species
Vini coccinea
Lesson, 1833

The Vini lorikeets are highly threatened by human changes to their islands. Most species have been lost from a number of islands and two species became extinct before the arrival of European explorers in the Pacific. As of 2017, two species are listed as endangered species by the IUCN and two are considered vulnerable.[1] They are primarily threatened by introduced species, such as rats, and habitat loss.

Taxonomy

edit

The genus Vini was introduced in 1833 by the French naturalist René Lesson for Kuhl's lorikeet.[2][3] The genus name is the Tahitian word for a local bird.[2][4][5]

This genus formerly included only the blue-crowned, ultramarine, Stephen's, Kuhl's, and blue lorikeets (as well as the extinct Sinoto's and conquered lorikeets); the collared lory was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Phigys, and the remaining five species were placed in Charmosyna. A molecular phylogenetic study of the lorikeets published in 2020 led to a revision of the generic boundaries.[6][7][8]

Species

edit

The genus contains 11 species:[8]

Image Common name Scientific name Distribution
  Red-throated lorikeet Vini amabilis Fiji
  Blue-crowned lorikeet Vini australis Futuna, Lau Islands, Niue, Samoan Islands and Tonga
  New Caledonian lorikeet Vini diadema New Caledonia
  Kuhl's lorikeet Vini kuhlii Austral Islands (Rimatara), Cook Islands (Atiu) and Kiribati (Line Islands)
Meek's lorikeet Vini meeki Solomon Archipelago
  Palm lorikeet Vini palmarum Santa Cruz Islands and Vanuatu
  Blue lorikeet Vini peruviana French Polynesia and the Cook Islands
  Red-chinned lorikeet Vini rubrigularis Bismarck Archipelago
  Stephen's lorikeet Vini stepheni Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Islands
  Collared lory Vini solitaria Fiji
  Ultramarine lorikeet Vini ultramarina Marquesas Islands

Fossils

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "The IUCN Red Data List of Threatened Species: Vini". IUCN Red List. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b Lesson, René P. (1833). Illustrations de zoologie, ou, Recueil de figures d'animaux peintes d'après nature (in French). Paris: Arthus Bertrand. Plate 28 and text, livraison 10. For the publication date see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
  3. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1937). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 156.
  4. ^ [Davies, John] (1851). "Vini". A Tahitian and English Dictionary. Tahiti: London Missionary Society's Press. p. 314. the name of a small paroquet
  5. ^ Wahlroos, Sven (2002). "Vini". English-Tahitian Tahitian-English Dictionary. Honolulu: Māʻohi Heritage Press. p. 684. (1) Tahiti parakeet; (2) small birds of various species imported to Tahiti
  6. ^ Smith, B.T.; Mauck, W.M.I.; Benz, B.W.; Andersen, M.J. (2020). "Uneven missing data skew phylogenomic relationships within the lories and lorikeets". Genome Biology and Evolution. 12 (7): 1131–1147. doi:10.1093/gbe/evaa113. PMC 7486955. PMID 32470111.
  7. ^ Joseph, L.; Merwin, J.; Smith, B.T. (2020). "Improved systematics of lorikeets reflects their evolutionary history and frames conservation priorities". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 120 (3): 201–215. Bibcode:2020EmuAO.120..201J. doi:10.1080/01584197.2020.1779596. S2CID 222094508.
  8. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  9. ^ a b Steadman, David W. (2006). Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. Chicago, IL, US: University of Chicago Press. p. 525. ISBN 978-0-226-77142-7.