''Hemiphaga'' is the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

containing two large

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 ...

pigeons Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. There are two subspecies of New Zealand pigeon, ''Hemiphaga novaseelandiae'': ''H. n. novaseelandiae'' of mainland New Zealand and the Norfolk pigeon (''H. n. spadicea'') of Norfolk Island, now extinct. The subspecies differed in their plumage colour and shape.James, R. E. (1995). Breeding ecology of the New Zealand pigeon at Wenderholm Regional Park. p93. ''School of Environmental and Marine Science''. University of Auckland, Auckland. In 2001, it was proposed that a third subspecies, ''H. n. chathamensis'' or the Chatham Island pigeon, was distinct enough to be raised to full

status as ''H. chathamensis''. This has since been accepted by most authorities.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Hemiphaga'' was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with the

New Zealand pigeon New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

(''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

. The name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''hēmi'' meaning "half-" or "small" with the end of the genus name ''Carpophaga'' introduced by

Prideaux John Selby Prideaux John Selby FRSE FLS (23 July 1788 – 27 March 1867) was an English ornithologist, botanist and natural history artist. Life Selby was born in Bondgate Street in Alnwick in Northumberland, the eldest son of George Selby of Beal a ...

in 1835. The genus contains two species:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1195661 Ptilinopinae Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte