''Spindalis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

consisting of four non-migratory species of bird. It is the only genus in the family Spindalidae. The species are mostly

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

; exceptions include populations of western spindalises on Cozumel Island, off the Yucatán Peninsula's east coast, and in extreme southeastern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The species were traditionally considered aberrant members of the tanager family

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...

. Taxonomic studies recover them as a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the

Puerto Rican tanager The Puerto Rican tanager (''Nesospingus speculiferus'') is a small passerine bird endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. It is the only member of the genus ''Nesospingus'' and has historically been placed in the tanager family, but recent s ...

(family Nesospingidae), and some group Spindalidae and Nesospingidae within the

Phaenicophilidae Phaenicophilidae is a family of passerine birds. It consists of three genera and four species, all endemic to Hispaniola, which have been traditionally placed in the families Thraupidae (''Phaenicophilus'') and Parulidae (''Xenoligea'', ''Microl ...

. Males are characterized by bright plumage while females are duller and have a different coloration. The nests are cup-shaped.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Spindalis'' was introduced in 1837 by the naturalists William Jardine and

Prideaux John Selby Prideaux John Selby FRSE Linnean Society, FLS (23 July 1788 – 27 March 1867) was an English ornithologist, botanist and natural history artist. Life Selby was born in Bondgate Street in Alnwick in Northumberland, the eldest son of George ...

to accommodate a single species, ''Spindalis bilineatus'' Jardine and Selby. This name is now considered a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Tanagra nigricephala'' Jameson, 1835, the

Jamaican spindalis The Jamaican spindalis (''Spindalis nigricephala'') is one of four species of bird in family Spindalidae. It is endemic to Jamaica. Taxonomy and systematics Historically, the genus ''Spindalis'' consisted of a single polytypic species, ''Sp ...

, which becomes the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

monotypy In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

. The genus contains four species:

Taxonomy

Historically, the genus consisted of a single polytypic species, ''Spindalis zena'' (with the common name of stripe-headed tanager), with eight recognized subspecies—''S. z. townsendi'' and ''S. z. zena'' from the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, ''S. z. pretrei'' from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, ''S. z. salvini'' from

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town, Cayman Islands, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of L ...

, ''S. z. dominicensis'' from Hispaniola and

Gonâve Island Gonâve Island or Zile Lagonav (, ; also ''La Gonâve'') is an island of Haiti located west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve. It is the largest of the Hispaniolan satellite islands. The island is an arrondissement (''Arrondis ...

, ''S. z. portoricensis'' from Puerto Rico, ''S. z. nigreciphala'' from Jamaica, and ''S. z. benedicti'' from Cozumel Island. In 1997, based primarily on morphological and vocalization differences, three of the subspecies (''portoricensis'', ''dominicensis'' and ''nigricephala'') were elevated to species status. ''S. zena'' remained a polytypic species with five recognized subspecies—''S. z. pretrei'', ''S. z. salvini'', ''S. z. benedicti'', ''S. z. townsendi'', and ''S. z. zena''.

References

Sources

* Bird genera Passeroidea Taxa named by Sir William Jardine Taxa named by Prideaux John Selby {{Passeroidea-stub