Scripps's murrelet

Scripps's murrelet
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Alcidae
Genus: Synthliboramphus
Species:
S. scrippsi
Binomial name
Synthliboramphus scrippsi
(Green & Arnold, 1939)
  Year-round
  Nonbreeding
Synonyms

Synthliboramphus hypoleucus scrippsi

Scripps's murrelet (Synthliboramphus scrippsi) is a small seabird found in the California Current system in the Pacific Ocean. This auk breeds on islands off California and Mexico. It is threatened by predators introduced to its breeding colonies and by oil spills.[1]

This species and the Guadalupe murrelet were considered conspecific and were known collectively as Xantus's murrelet until 2012. The two species are now considered distinct based on a lack of evidence of interbreeding at a shared nesting colony on the San Benito Islands, differences in facial pattern and bill shape, and differences in vocalizations and genetics.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2020). "Synthliboramphus scrippsi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T62101249A178995789. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T62101249A178995789.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
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