Polynesian Ground-dove
Encyclopedia
The Polynesian Ground Dove (Gallicolumba erythroptera) is a critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
species of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to the Tuamotus
Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe...
in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
with recent records from the atolls of Matureivavao
Matureivavao
Matureivavao, or Mature-vavao is an atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. It is the largest atoll within the Acteon Group....
, Rangiroa
Rangiroa
Rangiroa or Te Kokōta , is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and one of the largest in the world . It is part of the Palliser group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau, located only 12 km to the West...
, Tenararo
Tenararo
Tenararo is an atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. This atoll is the smallest of the group.Tenararo Atoll has a landing place on its NW side between the small boulders which encumber the reef...
, Morane
Morane (French Polynesia)
Morane is a small isolated atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 153 km southwest of Maria Est, its closest neighbor....
, Vahanga
Vahanga
thumb|300px|NASA satellite image of VahangaVahanga is a small atoll 5 miles west of Tenarunga. It is located in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. Vahanga is a low atoll covered with coconut trees...
and perhaps Tikehau
Tikehau
-External links:* * * * * * * * * * *...
. It favours tropical forests, especially with Pandanus tectorius
Pandanus tectorius
Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus that is native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include Thatch Screwpine, Hala , Bacua , and Vacquois ....
, Pisonia grandis
Pisonia grandis
Pisonia grandis is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae.-Description:The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that mature into sticky barbed seeds....
and shrubs, but it has also been recorded from dense shrub growing below coconut palms. It is threatened by habitat loss and predation by introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
such as cats and rats. The total population is estimated to be around 100-120 birds and it has already disappeared from several islands where it formerly occurred.