Gould's emerald (''Riccordia elegans'') is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

in the family

Trochilidae Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics arou ...

. It was described based on a single specimen taken in 1860; it is of unknown origin, but the northern

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

or especially

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

are likely sources. In 2023 the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

deleted it from its species list "until, and if, genetic analysis and/or stable isotope analysis sheds further light on its status."

Extinction

Except for the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

, there are no records, and it is presumed

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. While there is no information about the exact cause of extinction, the likely reasons include the loss of habitat or required food plants, and predation by introduced mammals. The holotype is currently located in

Natural History Museum at Tring The Natural History Museum at Tring was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild; today it is under the control of the Natural History Museum, London. It houses one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles ...

References

Gould's emerald Gould's emerald (''Riccordia elegans'') is an extinct species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It was described based on a single specimen taken in 1860; it is of unknown origin, but the northern Bahamas or especially Jamaica are likely s ...

Extinct birds of the Caribbean

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Species known from a single specimen {{hummingbird-stub