Fenwick's Antpitta
Encyclopedia
Grallaria fenwickorum or Grallaria urraoensis, known in English as Fenwick's Antpitta, the Urrao Antpitta or the Antioquia Antpitta, is a small, highly threatened
species of bird found in the understorey of cloud forest
in the Andean
highlands of Colombia
. Its description has caused considerable controversy. Shortly after the description using the scientific name Grallaria fenwickorum was published, a second description using the name Grallaria urraoensis was published. The latter recognized that their name likely was a junior synonym, but others have questioned if the first description was valid at all, in which case Grallaria urraoensis is the correct name.
sessions in September 2007 and February and March 2008 when Diego Carantón, then working as a researcher for a Colombian NGO, Fundación ProAves de Colombia
, caught an unfamiliar Grallaria
antpitta. It was also sound-recorded in late 2008. The population was thought to be a new species and was added to the Colombian checklist as "Grallaria sp." in 2009. Since 2008 many ornithologists and birders have seen, photographed, recorded and studied the new bird at the reserve, where a family party is seen daily at a feeding station alongside Chestnut-naped Antpitta
s. Luis Felipe Barrera and Avery Bartels, the authors of the description under the name Grallaria fenwickorum, based it on holotypic
material from a living bird, but also included information based on two specimen
s that Carantón had collected earlier.
Their holotype comprises 14 feathers, taken from the wing, tail and body of a living bird which was banded
, photographed, sound-recorded
and measured in the field before being released, on 11 January 2010. In the description it was stated that the holotype material had been deposited, as tissue collection No. 699, at the José Celestino Mutis
Natural History Museum of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Pamplona
. This was denied by people associated with the museum, which has neither a tissue collection nor anything deposited under No. 699. An associate of the museum did receive an envelope with the feathers, but he was not informed about its great significance and it was not moved to the collection until after the description of the new species. The museum does not have an ornithological curator or the means to preserve such an important sample. Consequently they have forwarded the material to the relevant authorities to allow them to take charge in its depositing and preservation.
Besides this holotype, two specimens were previously collected by Carantón. He has stated that the second was not deliberately collected, but died in the mist net
where it was caught, which is not an exceptional occurrence. According to Fundación ProAves these specimens were collected without their knowledge and without the necessary permit from the local government, and consequently neither was used as a holotype in their description, but one could possibly be designated as a neotype if the legal status was resolved. In 2011, the collector and ProAves (the collector was employed by them when the specimens were collected) were fined for breach of reporting requirements. ProAves maintain that the collection itself was irregular, but there was no such finding by the local government. One of the specimens was used as a holotype in the second description of the species, by Diego Carantón-Ayala and Katherine Certuche-Cubillos, where they coined the name Grallaria urraoensis.
, the bird is a typical member of the plain-coloured group due to its relatively small wings, fairly uniform upperparts and underparts without strong markings, relatively high tail / wing ratio, a convolute inner edge of the tarsus
, and 12 rectrices. It is evidently most closely related to the Brown-banded Antpitta
, G. milleri, because of similarities in voice and measurements and its generally plain plumage. Barrera and Bartels and other ornithologists have suggested that it is most closely related to the probably extinct subspecies G. m. gilesi, but Carantón and Certuche say that it may resemble G. m. milleri more closely than it does gilesi. They suggest that the present species, the Brown-banded Antpitta, and the Cundinamarca Antpitta
form a clade
.
The genus name Grallaria is derived from the Latin
word grallae, meaning "stilts", referring to the bird's relatively long legs. The specific name fenwickorum recognises George Fenwick, President of the American Bird Conservancy
(ABC), and his family, who assisted Fundación ProAves (ABC's partner organization in Colombia) in the purchase of land, now the Colibrí del Sol Bird Reserve
. Based on present knowledge, the antpitta is restricted to the reserve and its immediate surroundings. ProAves's suggested English name also honours Fenwick, while the Spanish common name Tororoi de Urrao is given after the municipality
of Urrao
, where the bird is found. Tororoi is a general Spanish name used for most antpitta species. The creation of a type specimen without killing an individual follows the policy of the ABC.
, which is endemic to the Cordillera Central of Colombia, but it has a slate-grey breast and lacks the brown flanks and breast band of the other species. Measurements of the living bird from which Barrera and Bartels' holotype material was derived, as well as of the two collected specimens, show weights ranging from 53.5 to 57.4 g (1.9 to 2 oz), flat wing chords of 95 –, tail lengths of 57 –, and tarsus lengths of 44.5 –. The sexes are similar in appearance, as with most other antpittas.
A captured fledgling was covered with dark grey down with brown edges above and was buff below. Its feet were dark pink; its bill was black above and orange below, with conspicuous red-orange edges. A captured juvenile looked scaled, with patches of chestnut-edged black down intermixed with grey feathers on much of its body, and a buff belly. Its bill resembled that of the fledgling.
The song comprises three notes of increasing length and frequency
. The birds sing more early in the year. The call is a single note, higher-pitched than the song, which rises, falls, and rises again. The birds often give it in response to loud noises and playbacks of its vocalisations. They call more later in the year. Both song and call resemble those of the Brown-banded Antpitta, but Fenwick's Antpitta's notes are shorter and lower-pitched, and those of its song are separated by wider intervals.
municipality in and near the Colibrí del Sol Bird Reserve, a 28.52 square kilometre reserve on the south-eastern slope of the Páramo del Sol massif
, at the northern end of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia, and some 55 kilometres (34.2 mi) west of Medellín
, Colombia’s second largest city. The massif has over 27 square kilometre of relatively intact páramo
and Polylepis
woodland
, containing more such habitat than all the other páramos in the region combined. There the bird is restricted to upper montane cloud forest
dominated by Colombian Oak
, at an altitude of 2600 to 3300 m (8,530.2 to 10,826.8 ft) above sea level, where most territories contain Chusquea
bamboo
thickets. It is suspected that its range may be larger than currently known, but so far surveys have failed to confirm this.
s (especially beetle
s) in the leaf-litter
within the forest understorey. It ascends to higher perches (up to 1.5 m above the ground) to sing, and is most active and vocal in the hours following dawn and prior to dusk.
It usually occurs in pairs, less often singly, and one group of three has been observed.
es were observed in June. These data and song activity from February to April (a dry season) suggest that the breeding season begins early in the year, possibly as early as January, and extends for several months.
As in other Grallaria species, the fledgling was less developed than those of most passerine
s, and both parents fed it earthworm
s.
, and the area is rich in minerals. The known population of 24 territories has an estimated area of 5.8 square kilometre, giving a conservative global population estimate of 57–156 territories. Both articles on the new species propose that the IUCN classify Fenwick’s Antpitta as Critically Endangered
, and this will be followed in the forthcoming 2011 edition of the BirdLife International
list, which is the authority used for birds by the IUCN. Although it is protected in the Colibrí del Sol reserve, it needs further protective measures. The single bird or pair that was known from outside the reserve has not been recorded since mid-2010 and appears to have disappeared.
In June 2010 (though dated May 2010), a second description of the new species by Carantón and another biologist in Colombia, Katherine Certuche, appeared in Ornitología Colombiana, the journal of the Asociación Colombiana de la Ornitología, edited by the ornithologists Carlos Daniel Cadena and F. Gary Stiles. It was accompanied by an editorial describing Stiles's and Cadena's involvement with Carantón and Certuche's paper starting shortly after Fundación ProAves found out about the work. In this account, Cadena attempted to mediate but withdrew because of conflicts with Fundación ProAves. The editorial adds a reason that Carantón's collection of specimens may have been lawful, and notes that in any case, none of the legal accusations against him had been decided by a court. Further, the attempt at joint publication by Carantón, Certuche, and Fundación ProAves scientists failed because Fundación ProAves insisted that Carantón could not be the corresponding author and that Fundación ProAves had to have full control over the final text. After The Condor rejected Carantón and Certuche's manuscript, they submitted it to Ornitología Colombiana, which decided to publish it despite the previous description of the species. Cadena and Stiles noted that ProAves had not given Carantón the possibility to answer their accusations before they were published and said the description by Barrera and Bartels could be a violation of Carantón's moral rights, which are protected under the Colombian law. They also stated that the description by Barrera and Bartels was in violation of the ICZN
Code of Ethics, which Barrera and Bartels denied and in any case the Code of Ethics is part of a section that zoologists are urged to follow (unlike most other sections of the ICZN code, which zoologists have to follow).
Subsequently the editor-in-chief of The Condor voiced his strong discontent with the actions of ProAves, suggested the description by Barrera and Bartels conflicted with the very spirit of the ICZN Code, and stated that he felt ProAves had "maneuvered to trick the Condor out of considering your [Carantón's] manuscript so that ProAves could publish its own type description of the antpitta."
In 2011, the local government fined Carantón and ProAves (Carantón was employed by them when the specimens were collected) for breach of reporting requirements. ProAves maintain that the collection itself was irregular, but there was no such finding by the local government.
The fenwickorum description was published before the urraoensis description (18 May 2010 vs 24 June 2010). If the first description is valid, the scientific name fenwickorum takes priority, and Carantón and Certuche's proposed name (Grallaria urraoensis) will be considered a junior synonym. It has been suggested that the description by Barrera and Bartels failed to properly designate a type and that they also failed to deposit their type material in a research collection, which could invalidate it following the ICZN Code. If that is the case, the name fenwickorum is not available (=invalid) and Grallaria urraoensis is the correct name. After seeing this argument, the American Ornithologists' Union
's South American Checklist Committee has accepted the species as urraoensis. (Members include Cadena, who abstained from the vote on the name, and Stiles, who voted for urraoensis.)
Time will tell whether Fundación ProAves' English name, Fenwick's Antpitta, or Carantón and Certuche's English name, Urrao Antpitta, will prove more popular, but the only completely uninvolved authority that has taken a stance on this matter has avoided taking sides by coining a new name, Antioquia Antpitta. Its known range is entirely within the Antioquia Department
. The two articles that described the species proposed the same Spanish name, tororoi de Urrao.
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
species of bird found in the understorey of cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
in the Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
highlands of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Its description has caused considerable controversy. Shortly after the description using the scientific name Grallaria fenwickorum was published, a second description using the name Grallaria urraoensis was published. The latter recognized that their name likely was a junior synonym, but others have questioned if the first description was valid at all, in which case Grallaria urraoensis is the correct name.
Discovery
The new species was discovered during bandingBird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
sessions in September 2007 and February and March 2008 when Diego Carantón, then working as a researcher for a Colombian NGO, Fundación ProAves de Colombia
Fundación ProAves
Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia established in 1998. Its primary aims are to protects birds of conservation concern and their habitats across Colombia.ProAves has over 60 full-time professional staff...
, caught an unfamiliar Grallaria
Grallaria
Grallaria is a large genus of birds in the Formicariidae family.It contains the following 32 species:* Undulated Antpitta, Grallaria squamigera* Giant Antpitta, Grallaria gigantea* Great Antpitta, Grallaria excelsa...
antpitta. It was also sound-recorded in late 2008. The population was thought to be a new species and was added to the Colombian checklist as "Grallaria sp." in 2009. Since 2008 many ornithologists and birders have seen, photographed, recorded and studied the new bird at the reserve, where a family party is seen daily at a feeding station alongside Chestnut-naped Antpitta
Chestnut-naped Antpitta
The Chestnut-naped Antpitta is a species of bird tentatively placed in the family Formicariidae; it might belong to a more distinct lineage though....
s. Luis Felipe Barrera and Avery Bartels, the authors of the description under the name Grallaria fenwickorum, based it on holotypic
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
material from a living bird, but also included information based on two specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
s that Carantón had collected earlier.
Their holotype comprises 14 feathers, taken from the wing, tail and body of a living bird which was banded
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
, photographed, sound-recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and measured in the field before being released, on 11 January 2010. In the description it was stated that the holotype material had been deposited, as tissue collection No. 699, at the José Celestino Mutis
José Celestino Mutis
-External links:*** at The Catholic Encyclopedia official site...
Natural History Museum of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Pamplona
University of Pamplona
The University of Pamplona , is a public, departmental, coeducational research university based primarily in the city of Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia. The university also has two satellite campuses in the department, in the cities of Cúcuta and Villa del Rosario.-External links:* ...
. This was denied by people associated with the museum, which has neither a tissue collection nor anything deposited under No. 699. An associate of the museum did receive an envelope with the feathers, but he was not informed about its great significance and it was not moved to the collection until after the description of the new species. The museum does not have an ornithological curator or the means to preserve such an important sample. Consequently they have forwarded the material to the relevant authorities to allow them to take charge in its depositing and preservation.
Besides this holotype, two specimens were previously collected by Carantón. He has stated that the second was not deliberately collected, but died in the mist net
Mist net
Mist nets are used by ornithologists and bat biologists to capture wild birds and bats for banding or other research projects. Mist nets are typically made of nylon mesh suspended between two poles, resembling an oversized volleyball net. When properly deployed, the nets are virtually invisible...
where it was caught, which is not an exceptional occurrence. According to Fundación ProAves these specimens were collected without their knowledge and without the necessary permit from the local government, and consequently neither was used as a holotype in their description, but one could possibly be designated as a neotype if the legal status was resolved. In 2011, the collector and ProAves (the collector was employed by them when the specimens were collected) were fined for breach of reporting requirements. ProAves maintain that the collection itself was irregular, but there was no such finding by the local government. One of the specimens was used as a holotype in the second description of the species, by Diego Carantón-Ayala and Katherine Certuche-Cubillos, where they coined the name Grallaria urraoensis.
Taxonomy and etymology
Within its genusGenus
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...
, the bird is a typical member of the plain-coloured group due to its relatively small wings, fairly uniform upperparts and underparts without strong markings, relatively high tail / wing ratio, a convolute inner edge of the tarsus
Tarsometatarsus
The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is found in the lower leg of certain tetrapods, namely birds.It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsal and metatarsal bones...
, and 12 rectrices. It is evidently most closely related to the Brown-banded Antpitta
Brown-banded Antpitta
The Brown-banded Antpitta is a species of bird in the Formicariidae family. It is endemic to Colombia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss....
, G. milleri, because of similarities in voice and measurements and its generally plain plumage. Barrera and Bartels and other ornithologists have suggested that it is most closely related to the probably extinct subspecies G. m. gilesi, but Carantón and Certuche say that it may resemble G. m. milleri more closely than it does gilesi. They suggest that the present species, the Brown-banded Antpitta, and the Cundinamarca Antpitta
Cundinamarca Antpitta
The Cundinamarca Antpitta is a species of bird in the Formicariidae family. It is endemic to Colombia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.- References :...
form a clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
.
The genus name Grallaria is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word grallae, meaning "stilts", referring to the bird's relatively long legs. The specific name fenwickorum recognises George Fenwick, President of the American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas...
(ABC), and his family, who assisted Fundación ProAves (ABC's partner organization in Colombia) in the purchase of land, now the Colibrí del Sol Bird Reserve
Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve
Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve is a 2,852 ha nature reserve in Colombia. It lies at the base of the Páramo del Sol volcanic massif west of the city of Medellín in the Department of Antioquia...
. Based on present knowledge, the antpitta is restricted to the reserve and its immediate surroundings. ProAves's suggested English name also honours Fenwick, while the Spanish common name Tororoi de Urrao is given after the municipality
Municipalities of Colombia
The Municipalities of Colombia are decentralized subdivisions of the Republic of Colombia. Municipalities make up most of the departments of Colombia with 1,119 municipalities...
of Urrao
Urrao
Urrao is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. It is part of the subregion of Southwestern Antioquia....
, where the bird is found. Tororoi is a general Spanish name used for most antpitta species. The creation of a type specimen without killing an individual follows the policy of the ABC.
Description
The bird most closely resembles the Brown-banded AntpittaBrown-banded Antpitta
The Brown-banded Antpitta is a species of bird in the Formicariidae family. It is endemic to Colombia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss....
, which is endemic to the Cordillera Central of Colombia, but it has a slate-grey breast and lacks the brown flanks and breast band of the other species. Measurements of the living bird from which Barrera and Bartels' holotype material was derived, as well as of the two collected specimens, show weights ranging from 53.5 to 57.4 g (1.9 to 2 oz), flat wing chords of 95 –, tail lengths of 57 –, and tarsus lengths of 44.5 –. The sexes are similar in appearance, as with most other antpittas.
A captured fledgling was covered with dark grey down with brown edges above and was buff below. Its feet were dark pink; its bill was black above and orange below, with conspicuous red-orange edges. A captured juvenile looked scaled, with patches of chestnut-edged black down intermixed with grey feathers on much of its body, and a buff belly. Its bill resembled that of the fledgling.
The song comprises three notes of increasing length and frequency
Audio frequency
An audio frequency or audible frequency is characterized as a periodic vibration whose frequency is audible to the average human...
. The birds sing more early in the year. The call is a single note, higher-pitched than the song, which rises, falls, and rises again. The birds often give it in response to loud noises and playbacks of its vocalisations. They call more later in the year. Both song and call resemble those of the Brown-banded Antpitta, but Fenwick's Antpitta's notes are shorter and lower-pitched, and those of its song are separated by wider intervals.
Distribution and habitat
The known distribution of the bird is limited to the UrraoUrrao
Urrao is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. It is part of the subregion of Southwestern Antioquia....
municipality in and near the Colibrí del Sol Bird Reserve, a 28.52 square kilometre reserve on the south-eastern slope of the Páramo del Sol massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
, at the northern end of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia, and some 55 kilometres (34.2 mi) west of Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, Colombia’s second largest city. The massif has over 27 square kilometre of relatively intact páramo
Páramo
The term páramo can refer to a variety of ecosystems. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as “all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline”. A more narrow term classifies the páramo according to its regional placement - specifically located in “the northern Andes...
and Polylepis
Polylepis
Polylepis is a genus containing about twenty species of shrubs or trees native to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are usually gnarled in shape, but in certain areas some trees are...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, containing more such habitat than all the other páramos in the region combined. There the bird is restricted to upper montane cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
dominated by Colombian Oak
Quercus humboldtii
Quercus humboldtii, commonly known as the Andean Oak, Colombian Oak or Roble, is a species of oak in the Fagaceae family. It is endemic to the highlands of northern South America, with an altitudinal range from 1,000 to 3,200 m...
, at an altitude of 2600 to 3300 m (8,530.2 to 10,826.8 ft) above sea level, where most territories contain Chusquea
Chusquea
Chusquea is a genus of bamboo with about 150 species. Most of them are mountain clumping bamboos native from southern Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unlike most other bamboos, the stems of these species are solid, not hollow...
bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
thickets. It is suspected that its range may be larger than currently known, but so far surveys have failed to confirm this.
Behaviour
The species exhibits behaviour typical of other members of its genus; it is a shy, terrestrial forager for insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s (especially beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s) in the leaf-litter
Plant litter
Plant litter, leaf litter or tree litter is dead plant material, such as leaves, bark, needles, and twigs, that has fallen to the ground. Litter provides habitat for small animals, fungi, and plants, and the material may be used to construct nests. As litter decomposes, nutrients are released to...
within the forest understorey. It ascends to higher perches (up to 1.5 m above the ground) to sing, and is most active and vocal in the hours following dawn and prior to dusk.
It usually occurs in pairs, less often singly, and one group of three has been observed.
Reproduction
The males captured in February and March had enlarged testes, typical of breeding birds. The fledgling and an adult with old brood patchBrood patch
thumb|250px|Brood patch of [[Sand Martin]]A brood patch is a patch of featherless skin that is visible on the underside of birds during the nesting season. This patch of skin is well supplied with blood vessels at the surface making it possible for the birds to transfer heat to their eggs when...
es were observed in June. These data and song activity from February to April (a dry season) suggest that the breeding season begins early in the year, possibly as early as January, and extends for several months.
As in other Grallaria species, the fledgling was less developed than those of most passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
s, and both parents fed it earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s.
Conservation status
The bird has a very restricted known range, limited to the Colibrí del Sol reserve and its immediate vicinity, while previous surveys in similar habitat in the region have failed to record the species. Moreover, habitat used by the bird has been extensively cleared for pasturePasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
, and the area is rich in minerals. The known population of 24 territories has an estimated area of 5.8 square kilometre, giving a conservative global population estimate of 57–156 territories. Both articles on the new species propose that the IUCN classify Fenwick’s Antpitta as Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species. Critically Endangered means that a species' numbers have decreased, or will decrease, by 80% within three generations....
, and this will be followed in the forthcoming 2011 edition of the BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
list, which is the authority used for birds by the IUCN. Although it is protected in the Colibrí del Sol reserve, it needs further protective measures. The single bird or pair that was known from outside the reserve has not been recorded since mid-2010 and appears to have disappeared.
Controversy over the discovery
The first description was published in Conservación Colombiana, the journal of Fundación ProAves. It was accompanied by an editorial giving the reasons that Diego Carantón, who discovered the bird, was not among the authors of the paper. The editorial accused Carantón of taking specimens illegally as well as violating his contract by omitting mention of his discovery from his monthly reports to Fundación ProAves and by trying to deprive the foundation of its intellectual property in the discovery. Specifically, it said that the Fundación had learned of the discovery through third parties in October 2008. Attempts to agree on a publication authored by Carantón and members of Fundación ProAves failed, and then Carantón and others tried to publish a description of the species in the journal The Condor without notifying the Fundación. The Condor rejected the manuscript pending resolution of the dispute. Staff members of Fundación ProAves went to the Colibrí del Sol reserve and in January 2010 caught a bird whose feathers they collected and used as the basis of their publication without Carantón (May 2010).In June 2010 (though dated May 2010), a second description of the new species by Carantón and another biologist in Colombia, Katherine Certuche, appeared in Ornitología Colombiana, the journal of the Asociación Colombiana de la Ornitología, edited by the ornithologists Carlos Daniel Cadena and F. Gary Stiles. It was accompanied by an editorial describing Stiles's and Cadena's involvement with Carantón and Certuche's paper starting shortly after Fundación ProAves found out about the work. In this account, Cadena attempted to mediate but withdrew because of conflicts with Fundación ProAves. The editorial adds a reason that Carantón's collection of specimens may have been lawful, and notes that in any case, none of the legal accusations against him had been decided by a court. Further, the attempt at joint publication by Carantón, Certuche, and Fundación ProAves scientists failed because Fundación ProAves insisted that Carantón could not be the corresponding author and that Fundación ProAves had to have full control over the final text. After The Condor rejected Carantón and Certuche's manuscript, they submitted it to Ornitología Colombiana, which decided to publish it despite the previous description of the species. Cadena and Stiles noted that ProAves had not given Carantón the possibility to answer their accusations before they were published and said the description by Barrera and Bartels could be a violation of Carantón's moral rights, which are protected under the Colombian law. They also stated that the description by Barrera and Bartels was in violation of the ICZN
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 28 members from 20 countries, mainly practicing zoological taxonomists...
Code of Ethics, which Barrera and Bartels denied and in any case the Code of Ethics is part of a section that zoologists are urged to follow (unlike most other sections of the ICZN code, which zoologists have to follow).
Subsequently the editor-in-chief of The Condor voiced his strong discontent with the actions of ProAves, suggested the description by Barrera and Bartels conflicted with the very spirit of the ICZN Code, and stated that he felt ProAves had "maneuvered to trick the Condor out of considering your [Carantón's] manuscript so that ProAves could publish its own type description of the antpitta."
In 2011, the local government fined Carantón and ProAves (Carantón was employed by them when the specimens were collected) for breach of reporting requirements. ProAves maintain that the collection itself was irregular, but there was no such finding by the local government.
The fenwickorum description was published before the urraoensis description (18 May 2010 vs 24 June 2010). If the first description is valid, the scientific name fenwickorum takes priority, and Carantón and Certuche's proposed name (Grallaria urraoensis) will be considered a junior synonym. It has been suggested that the description by Barrera and Bartels failed to properly designate a type and that they also failed to deposit their type material in a research collection, which could invalidate it following the ICZN Code. If that is the case, the name fenwickorum is not available (=invalid) and Grallaria urraoensis is the correct name. After seeing this argument, the American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
's South American Checklist Committee has accepted the species as urraoensis. (Members include Cadena, who abstained from the vote on the name, and Stiles, who voted for urraoensis.)
Time will tell whether Fundación ProAves' English name, Fenwick's Antpitta, or Carantón and Certuche's English name, Urrao Antpitta, will prove more popular, but the only completely uninvolved authority that has taken a stance on this matter has avoided taking sides by coining a new name, Antioquia Antpitta. Its known range is entirely within the Antioquia Department
Antioquia Department
Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range...
. The two articles that described the species proposed the same Spanish name, tororoi de Urrao.