On the absence of the Green-tailed Trainbearer Lesbia nuna (Trochilidae) from Venezuela: an analysis based on environmental niche modelling.

Paolo Ramoni Perazzi,Alejandra Soto Werschitz,Karl Schuchmann,Magdiel Ablan Bortone

doi:10.3897/bdj.5.e22092

Abstract

BackgroundLesbia nuna, a hummingbird distributed in the tropical Andes, has been included in Venezuela's bird list on the basis of a specimen collected in 1873 at Sierra Nevada, Mérida and deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, with no further records for this country since then. This record, largely considered as valid by most authors, has been questioned by others, although without formal analyses.New informationThe potential habitat range of the Green-Tailed Trainbearer, Lesbia nuna gouldii (Trochilidae), in the northern Andes from Ecuador to Venezuela was modelled, using maximum entropy niche modelling, environmental covariates and records from locations across the Colombian Andes. The predicted suitable habitat range corresponded well to the known range of the subspecies L. n. gouldii in Colombia and clearly excluded Sierra Nevada. Therefore, these analyses suggest that this species should be removed from the Venezuelan bird list.

Highlights

Lesbia nuna, a hummingbird inhabiting the tropical Andes between 1700 and 3800 m (Schuchmann 1999), is currently divided into five (Clements et al 2016) or seven (Züchner et al 2017) subspecies, with L. n. gouldii being patchily distributed in the central and southern Andes of Colombia
The predicted suitable habitat range corresponded well to the known range of the subspecies L. n. gouldii in Colombia and clearly excluded Sierra Nevada. These analyses suggest that this species should be removed from the Venezuelan bird list
There is a specimen of this subspecies deposited in the Natural History Museum, London: a male labelled as collected by Anton Goering in 1873 at “Sierra Nevada, Merida, Venezuela”, with no further records made for this country since (Restall et al 2006)

Summary

Introduction

A hummingbird inhabiting the tropical Andes between 1700 and 3800 m (Schuchmann 1999), is currently divided into five (Clements et al 2016) or seven (Züchner et al 2017) subspecies, with L. n. gouldii being patchily distributed in the central and southern Andes of Colombia. Habitat alteration often follows the assessment of newly explored areas, with the concomitant extinctions (Fuller 2001) In such cases, species or populations from these areas known only from old single records are usually viewed with scepticism because the lack of further information suggests mislabelled specimens (for example Zimmer 1951). A hummingbird distributed in the tropical Andes, has been included in Venezuela's bird list on the basis of a specimen collected in 1873 at Sierra Nevada, Mérida and deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, with no further records for this country since This record, largely considered as valid by most authors, has been questioned by others, without formal analyses.

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