Rapa shearwater
The Rapa shearwater (Puffinus myrtae), is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. It breeds on the surrounding islets of Rapa in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia where it is known locally as the kaki kaki.[2]
| Rapa shearwater | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Puffinus |
| Species: | P. myrtae |
| Binomial name | |
| Puffinus myrtae Bourne, 1959 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Puffinus newelli myrtae | |
Its relationship is confusing. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater (Puffinus newelli) and possibly the little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis). It used to be included in the former as a subspecies and was long considered a subspecies of the latter.
Not much is known about its decline. It most likely once occurred on Rapa itself, though this population has been extirpated by the polynesian rat, feral goats, and feral cats.
References
- {{cite iucn|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/details/132468585/0|title=Puffinus myrtae |author=BirdLife International |author-link=BirdLife International |year=2018 |access-date=15 December 2018|ref=harv}}
- The Ornithological Society of Polynesia
- Austin, Jeremy J. (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6(1): 77–88. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060 (HTML abstract)
- Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent & Pasquet, Eric (2004): A global molecular phylogeny of the small Puffinus shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex. Auk 121(3): 847–864. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0847:AGMPOT]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract