The Wakatobi flowerpecker (''Dicaeum celebicum kuehni'') is a subspecies of the grey-sided flowerpecker that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Wakatobi Tukangbesi Islands, is a group of islands off the coast of Sulawesi immediately east of Buton island in the Banda Sea region, and part of Sulawesi Tenggara. "Tukang Besi" literally means "iron worker" or "blacksmith" in Indonesian. There is a T ...

Islands of Indonesia. Some authorities consider it to be a separate species as ''Dicaeum kuehni''.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Wakatobi flowerpecker was originally described as a species of flowerpecker in 1903 by

Ernst Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in Hamburg, Germany on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrator Claudia Bernadine E ...

and was reclassified as a subspecies of the grey-sided flowerpecker shortly thereafter. The specific name commemorates Heinrich Kühn, a German bird collector who worked for Ernst Hartert in Indonesia. New analysis published in 2014 by Seán Kelly ''et al.'' proposed re-establishing the Wakatobi flowerpecker as a distinct species, based on DNA and morphological comparisons. Using a combination of genetic,

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

, and

phenotypic In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

analyses, the team determined the Wakatobi flowerpecker was a distinct species from the Grey-sided flowerpecker. Additionally, genetic evidence showed that the two species come from distinct genetic lines that have not interbred. This suggests that neither species can traverse the between the Wakatobi islands and Sulawesi mainland.

Description

Wakatobi flowerpeckers exhibit

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

. Males have dark gray feathers on the back and tail, white feathers on the belly, and red feathers on the chin. Females have medium gray feathers on the back and tail and light gray to white feathers on the belly and chin. Compared to the closely related grey-sided flowerpecker, the Wakatobi flowerpecker is significantly larger: it has longer wings, a longer bill, a longer skull, and is heavier. Additionally, there are subtle color variations: compared to the grey-sided flowerpecker, male Wakatobi flowerpeckers have bluer upper feathers, lighter side feathers, and their red coloring extends further down. For females there are no major color differences between the two species. The species feeds primarily on fruit.

Distribution and habitat

The Wakatobi flowerpecker is

to the

Islands, off the SE peninsula of

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

. Although the area lies within the

Wakatobi National Park Wakatobi National Park is a marine national park in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The name of Wakatobi is a portmanteau of the four main Tukangbesi Islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko.

, there is currently no environmental protection, and scientists have expressed concern over its prospects given the rate of human development in the region.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q17189183, from2=Q27633219 Birds described in 1903 Endemic birds of Sulawesi Dicaeum