The Puerto Rican quail-dove (''Geotrygon larva'') is an extinct species of dove from the genus of quail-doves ''

Geotrygon ''Geotrygon'' is a bird genus in the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae). Its members are called quail-doves, and all live in the Neotropics. The species of this genus have ranges from southern Mexico and Central America to the West Indies and So ...

''. It is only known by subfossil material from the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

. Remains of the Puerto Rican quail-dove were unearthed in the Cueva (cave)Clara and Cueva Catedral near

Morovis Morovis (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, north of Orocovis, south of Manatí, Vega Baja and Vega Alta; east of Ciales, and west of Corozal. Morovis is spread over 13 barrios and Mor ...

, in the Cueva Toraño at

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

, and in a

kitchen midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

near Mayagüez on

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, a

tarsometatarsus The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) and meta ...

, was discovered in July 1916 by zoologist Harold Elmer Anthony in the Cueva Clara. According to

Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Early life and education The son of a Country Physician, Frank Al ...

Alexander Wetmore: ''Five New Species of Birds from Cave Deposits In Porto Rico'' In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 1920:p 79–80 who described this species it was related to the

grey-fronted quail-dove The grey-fronted quail-dove (''Geotrygon caniceps'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Cuba. Taxonomy and systematics The grey-fronted quail-dove and most of what are now the other species in genus ''Geotrygon'' ...

(''Geotrygon caniceps''), which occurs on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The tarsometatarsus of the Puerto Rican quail-dove, though, is longer than in the grey-fronted quail-dove. Compared with the

ruddy quail-dove The ruddy quail-dove (''Geotrygon montana'') is a species of bird in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. It breeds throughout the West Indies, Central America, and tropical South America. It has appeared as a vagrant in Florida and southern Te ...

(''G. montana''), which occurs on Puerto Rico, too, the tarsometatarsi are more slender. The large amount of unearthed material led to the assumption that the Puerto Rican quail-dove might have been a common bird before the initial arrival of humans to the island. Its extinction may have been due to deforestation.

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Further reading