| Order |
Ciconiiformes |
| Family |
Procellariidae |
| Scientific
name |
Pterodroma occulta |
|
English name |
Vanuatu Petrel |
| Alternative
name |
|
| Bislama
name(s) |
|
| Status
in Vanuatu |
Breeds in Vanuatu |
| Recent
records |
2 |
| Contributions |
2
Images,
3
Recordings.
|
| Six specimens were collected off Mere Lava in 1927 by the Whitney South Sea Expedition and have been described as a new species, Vanuatu Petrel P. occulta, by Imber and Tennyson (2001). Vanuatu Petrel has tentatively been accepted by Christidis and Boles (2008). In February 2009, a breeding location was discovered on Vanua Lava, 130 km northwest of the type locality (Totterman, 2009). VanBirds has accepted the specific status of Vanuatu Petrel. BirdLife has not yet adopted the species and includes the Vanuatu Petrel with White-necked Petrel P. cervicalis in the VULNERABLE category on the 2008 IUCN Red List (BirdLife, 2008). If allowed to treat Vanuatu Petrel as a separate species, it is probably more threatened because it likely has a smaller population. An estimate of breeding population size, investigation of any threats on the breeding grounds and searches for possible colonies on other islands is required. The status of the White-necked Petrel in Vanuatu is now considered uncertain, without any known records. References. |
|
2 of 2
Sequence
follows
Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993). |
