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PHAETHONTIDAE - Tropicbirds (1:3)
PHAETHON Linnaeus, 1758 M - Phaethon aethereus Linnaeus, 1758; type by subsequent designation (G.R. Gray, 1840, A List of the Genera of Birds, p. 80).  1
Phaethon aethereus Red-billed Tropicbird
1 mesonauta J.L. Peters, 19302 iE Pacific (Rocas Alijos, Golfo de California, Islas Revillagigedo, Islas Marías; Isla de Malpelo; Isla la Plata; Galapagos Is.; Isla San Lorenzo), E Caribbean Sea (Vieques I. to Little Tobago; Isla Blanquilla to Islas las Aves); E Atlantic Ocean (Cape Verde Is.)
1 aethereus Linnaeus, 1758 vTropical S Atlantic (Fernando de Noronha I., Ascension I., St. Helena I.)
2 indicus Hume, 1876 vRed Sea, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf
Phaethon rubricauda3 Red-tailed Tropicbird
rubricauda Boddaert, 1783 iW Indian Ocean (Madagascar and Mauritius, north to Seychelles)
westralis Mathews, 1912 vChristmas I., Cocos Is. and islands off W Australia >> Indian Ocean
roseotinctus (Mathews, 1926) vIslands in Great Barrier Reef, Norfolk I., Lord Howe I., Kermadec Is.
melanorhynchos J.F. Gmelin, 17894 iOgasawara Is., Iwo Is. (Japan) and Hawaiian Is. south through E Micronesia to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, east through all Polynesia to Iles Marquises, Pitcairn Is., Easter I. and Isla Sala y Gómez (?) >> tropical E Pacific Ocean
Phaethon lepturus5 White-tailed Tropicbird
catesbyi von Brandt, 1838 iWest Indies, Bahamas, Bermuda
ascensionis (Mathews, 1915) iTropical S Atlantic (Fernando de Noronha I.; Ascension I.; São Tomé, Annobón, Ilha das Cabras)
lepturus Daudin, 1802 vIslands in Indian Ocean from Madagascar to Cocos Is., and Bali and satellites >> Indian Ocean
europae Le Corre & Jouventin, 1999 iIle Europa (Mozambique Channel) [Le Corre, 1999 #2348].
fulvus von Brandt, 1838 vChristmas I. (Indian Ocean) >> neighbouring seas
dorotheae Mathews, 1913 iGuam, Palau and Hawaiian Is. south through Micronesia to New Caledonia and Fiji, east through Polynesia to Iles Gambier
1 Species sequence based on Kennedy & Spencer (2004) [Kennedy, 2004 #2207].
2 Includes limatus; see Dorst & Mougin (1979) [Dorst, 1979 #1408].
3 Diagnosability of all subspecies questionable; see Tarburton (1989) [Tarburton, 1989 #13997], Marchant & Higgins (1990) [Marchant, 1990 #2485], and Nelson (2006) [Nelson, 2006 #12286].
4 Includes rothschildi; see Dorst & Mougin (1979) [Dorst, 1979 #1408].
5 Diagnosability of subspecies doubtful; they are based on mensural differences with extensive overlap and on varying frequency of colour morphs, see Le Corre & Jouventin (1999) [Le Corre, 1999 #2348].
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