Caloenas
Encyclopedia
Caloenas is a 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...

 of pigeons. The only living species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 is the Nicobar Pigeon
Nicobar Pigeon
The Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica, is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas....

 (C. nicobarica).

One or two extinct species are known: Caloenas canacorum was a large species from New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

 and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

. It is only known by subfossil remains and was probably hunted to extinction by the early settlers. The Liverpool Pigeon
Liverpool Pigeon
The Liverpool Pigeon or Spotted Green Pigeon is a presumed extinct pigeon species from an unknown provenance.-Description:...

, another extinct species from an unknown locality, has only a slightly similarity to the Nicobar Pigeon
Nicobar Pigeon
The Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica, is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas....

 due to its neck feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...

s. Ornithologists place it in this 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...

 but there is not a unanimous agreement. One surviving specimen exists in the Liverpool Museum.

Species

  • Nicobar Pigeon
    Nicobar Pigeon
    The Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica, is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas....

    , Caloenas nicobarica
  • †Kanaka Pigeon
    Kanaka Pigeon
    The Kanaka Pigeon is an extinct pigeon. It was probably hunted to extinction by the early settlers of New Caledonia and Tonga. It was also called the Great Green Pigeon or the Greater Maned Pigeon and was related to the Nicobar Pigeon, but was about one quarter larger in size...

    , Caloenas canacorum Balouet & Olson, 1989
  • †Liverpool Pigeon
    Liverpool Pigeon
    The Liverpool Pigeon or Spotted Green Pigeon is a presumed extinct pigeon species from an unknown provenance.-Description:...

    , "Caloenas" maculata
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