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 | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ptilonorhynchidae |
| Genus: | Ailuroedus |
| Species: | A. arfakianus
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| Binomial name | |
| Ailuroedus arfakianus A.B. Meyer, 1874
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| Subspecies | |
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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
editTwo subspecies are recognized:[2]
- Ailuroedus arfakianus misoliensis – Mayr & Meyer de Schauensee, 1939: found on Misool Island (Papua)
- Ailuroedus arfakianus arfakianus – A.B. Meyer, 1874: found in the Vogelkop Mountains of northwest New Guinea
References
edit- ^ Irestedt, Martin; Batalha-Filho, Henrique; Roselaar, Cees S.; Christidis, Les; Ericson, Per G. P. (2016). "Contrasting phylogeographic signatures in two Australo-Papuan bowerbird species complexes (Aves: Ailuroedus)". Zoologica Scripta. 45 (4): 365–379. doi:10.1111/zsc.12163.
- ^ IOC v.6.3