Rapa shearwater
The Rapa shearwater (Puffinus myrtae), is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. It breeds on the surrounding islets of Rapa in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia where it is known locally as the kaki kaki.[2]
| Rapa shearwater | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Puffinus |
| Species: | P. myrtae |
| Binomial name | |
| Puffinus myrtae Bourne, 1959 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Puffinus newelli myrtae | |
Its relationships are confusing. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater (Puffinus newelli) and possibly the little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis). It used to be included in the former as a subspecies and was long considered a subspecies of the latter.
Not much is known about its decline. It most likely once occurred on Rapa itself, though this population has been extirpated by the polynesian rat, feral goats, and feral cats.
References
- BirdLife International (2018). "Puffinus myrtae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T132468585A132468877. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T132468585A132468877.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- The Ornithological Society of Polynesia
- Austin, Jeremy J. (1996). "Molecular Phylogenetics ofPuffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochromeb Gene Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 6 (1): 77–88. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060. PMID 8812308.
- Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Pasquet, Eric (2004). "A Global Molecular Phylogeny of the Small Puffinus Shearwaters and Implications for Systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater Complex". The Auk. 121 (3): 847. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0847:AGMPOT]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0004-8038.