Jamaica Petrel
Encyclopedia
The Jamaica Petrel is (or was) a small seabird
in the gadfly petrel
genus
, Pterodroma. It is also known as the Blue Mountain Duck. It is related to the Black-capped Petrel
P. hasitata, and often considered a subspecies.
This species was last collected in 1879, and was searched for without success between 1996 and 2000. However, it cannot yet be classified as extinct because nocturnal petrels are notoriously difficult to record, and it may conceivably occur on Dominica
and Guadeloupe
.
Several species of lice are known to have parasitized the Jamaica and Black-capped Petrels http://www.phthiraptera.org/Birds/Procellariidae.html. If the former is extinct, one of these lice, the phtilopterid
Saemundssonia jamaicensis may be coextinct
as it has not been found on other birds (May 1990).
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
in the gadfly petrel
Gadfly petrel
The gadfly petrels are seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. These medium to large petrels feed on food items picked from the ocean surface....
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, Pterodroma. It is also known as the Blue Mountain Duck. It is related to the Black-capped Petrel
Black-capped Petrel
The Black-capped Petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It is also known as the Diablotín. The extinct Jamaica Petrel was a related dark form, often considered a subspecies of this bird.This long-winged petrel has a grey-brown back and wings, with a white nape and rump...
P. hasitata, and often considered a subspecies.
This species was last collected in 1879, and was searched for without success between 1996 and 2000. However, it cannot yet be classified as extinct because nocturnal petrels are notoriously difficult to record, and it may conceivably occur on Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
and Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
.
Several species of lice are known to have parasitized the Jamaica and Black-capped Petrels http://www.phthiraptera.org/Birds/Procellariidae.html. If the former is extinct, one of these lice, the phtilopterid
Ischnocera
The Ischnocera is a large suborder of lice mostly parasitic on birds but including a large family parasitic on mammals. The genus Trichophilopterus is also found on mammals but probably belongs to the "avian Ischnocera" and represents a host switch from birds to mammals...
Saemundssonia jamaicensis may be coextinct
Coextinction
Coextinction of a species is the loss of a species as a consequence of the extinction of another. The term was originally used in the context of the extinction of parasitic insects following the loss of their specific hosts...
as it has not been found on other birds (May 1990).