The Príncipe seedeater (''Crithagra rufobrunnea'') is a species of

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

in the family

Fringillidae The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usu ...

. It is found only on the islands of

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Ál ...

and

Príncipe Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census;

off the west coast of Africa. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are

subtropical or tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

and

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...

. The Príncipe seedeater was formerly placed in 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 n ...

Serinus ''Serinus'' is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage. The genus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch. Its name is New ...

'' but phylogenetic analysis using

mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the Príncipe seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus ''Crithagra''.

References

* Christy, P. & Clarke, W. V. (1998). ''Guide des oiseaux de São Tomé et Príncipe'' (''Guide to the Birds of São Tomé and Príncipe''). Libreville, Ecofac, 106 pages * Jones, P. J. & Tye, A. (2006). ''The Birds of São Tomé and Príncipe with Annobón, islands of the Gulf of Guinea.'' British Ornithologists’ Union, Oxford, 192 pages * Melo, M. (2007). ''Bird speciation in the Gulf of Guinea''. PhD, School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh. * Naurois, de, R. (1975). Les Carduelinae des îles de São Tomé et Príncipe (Golfe de Guinée) (''Carduelinae in the Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe (Gulf of Guinea)''). ''Ardeola'' 21 : 903–931. Príncipe seedeater Endemic birds of São Tomé and Príncipe Fauna of Príncipe Príncipe seedeater Príncipe seedeater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Fringillidae-stub

References

Further reading