Least Grebe

SCI Name:  Tachybaptus dominicus
Protonym:  Colymbus dominicus Syst.Nat.ed.12 ed.12 p.223
Taxonomy:  Podicipediformes / Podicipedidae / Tachybaptus
Taxonomy Code:  leagre
Type Locality:  Santo Domingo.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1766
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

TACHYBAPTUS
(Podicipedidae; Ϯ Little Grebe or Dabchick T. ruficollis) Gr. ταχυς takhus  fast; βαπτω baptō  to sink under; "The Dabchick floats, swims, dives, and, as I have ascertained from observation, flies under water, with astonishing ease and activity. When surprised, it eludes its enemy by slipping beneath the surface, and not appearing until a good way off." (Macgillivray 1842); "3. *Tachybaptus RCHB. minor. (Colymb. — Briss.) R.  Tab. 11. Caput, ala, cauda, pes. — Ic. Av. t. 11. ic. 79—85. — Reliquae species: t. 13. ic. 748—55. t. 111. ic. 1076. t. 111b. ic. 2941." (Reichenbach 1853); "Tachybaptus Reichenbach, Av. Syst. Nat., 1852 (1853), p. iii. Type, by monotypy, Colymbus minor Gmelin = Colymbus ruficollis Pallas." (Peters 1931, 1, 35).
Var. Tachybaptes.
Synon. Dominicus, Limnodytes.

dominicensis / dominicus
Santo Domingo or San Domingo (= Hispaniola), West Indies.
● Erroneous TL San Domingo (= Puerto Rico); ex “Perroquet de Saint-Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 792, “Papegai à bandeau rouge” of de Buffon 12770-1783, and “Red-banded Parrot” of Latham 1781 (syn. Amazona vittata).
● ex “Colibry de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (Anthracothorax).
● ex “Alouette de mer de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Calidris melanotos).
● Erroneous TL. Santo Domingo (= South Africa) (syn. Caprimulgus pectoralis).
● ex “Tangara de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “Tangara de Saint-Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 156, fig. 2 (Dulus).
● ex “Esmerillon de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “St.-Domingo Falcon” of Latham 1781 (subsp. Falco sparverius).
● ex “Carouge de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (Icterus).
● Erroneous TL. San Domingo (= East Indies); “The oldest name for this bird is, no doubt, Turdus dominicus of P. L. S. Müller ...a gentleman who brought out an edition of Linnæus’s ‘Systema Naturae’ and included species published since 1766 ...It is a great question whether this author is entitled to recognition at the hands of ornithologists, as he was apparently colour-blind – witness his bestowing the name of viridis upon the rufous-and-grey Terpsiphone of South Africa, and castanea upon the totally black Philepitta jala of Madagascar! In the case of Lalage terat he has committed himself greatly, as he has not noticed the numbers of the figures on D’Aubenton’s plate [pl. 273], and has named the upper bird (“Merle des Indes orientales”) dominica, instead of the under figure, which represents a bird from San Domingo [“Merle de Saint-Domingue”]; to this he has given the name of indicus” (Sharpe 1879) (syn Lalage nigra).
● ex “Merle de Saint-Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Mimus polyglottos orpheus).
● ex “Chilcanauhtli” of Hernandez 1651, and “Querquedula dominicensis” or “Sarcelle de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (Nomonyx).
● ex “Hirondelle de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “Hirondelle d’Amérique” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 545, fig. 1 (Progne).
● ex “Chouette” or “Grande Chevêche de St. Domingue” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Saint Domingo Owl” of Latham 1785 (syn. Speotyto cunicularia).
● Erroneous TL San Domingo (?= Jamaica); ex “Tourterelle de Saint-Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 487 (unident.; ?Starnoenas).
● ex "Grèbe de rivière de S. Domingue" of Brisson 1760 (Tachybaptus).
● ex “Tyran de Sainte Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “Saint Domingo Tyrant” of Latham 1781 (Tyrannus).

Dominicus
(Podicipedidae; syn. Tachybaptus † Least Grebe T. dominicus) Specific name Colymbus dominicus Linnaeus, 1766; "In a recent publication (Ksepka et al. in press), the results of a phylogenetic analysis of extant and fossil Podicipediformes (grebes) were reported.  Because the Least Grebe 'Tachybaptus' dominicus was recovered outside of the monophylectic group formed by other Tachybaptus species, Poliocephalus, and the fossil taxon Thiornis, it was proposed that the genus Limnodytes be resurrected for this species.  However, it has come to our attention that this name is invalid due to being a junior homonym.  Ksepka et al. (2013) incorrectly ascribed authorship of the genus name Limnodytes to Linnaeus.  Linnaeus (1766) named the species dominicus, but assigned this species to Colymbus Linnaeus, 1758, a 'wastebasket' genus that has since been suppressed under the plenary powers of the ICZN (ICZN 1956, Opinion 401).  The name Limnodytes was first applied to grebes by Oberholser (1974), and thus is a junior homonym of Limnodytes Duméril and Bibron, 1841, a ranid frog (currently synonymized with Hylarana Tschudi, 1838).  Given the history in the ornithological literature of creating tautonymous genera when separating species first named by Linnaeus, we propose Dominicus nom. nov. as a replacement name for Limnodytes Oberholser, 1974.  Colymbus dominicus Linnaeus, 1766, is the type and only known species." (Ksepka & Kammerer 2013); "Dominicus Ksepka and Kammerer, 2013, Palaeontology, 56 (5), p. 1171.  New name for Limnodytes Oberholser, 1974, preoccupied by Limnodytes Duméril and Bibron, 1841 (Amphibia)." (JAJ 2020).

SUBSPECIES

Least Grebe (brachypterus)
SCI Name: Tachybaptus dominicus brachypterus
brachypterus
Gr. βραχυπτερος brakhupteros  short-winged  < βραχυς brakhus  short; -πτερος -pteros  -winged  < πτερον pteron  wing.
● ex “Pavaneur” of Levaillant 1802 (syn. Acrocephalus schoenobaenus).
● ex “Short-winged Thrush” of Latham 1801 (Dasyornis).
● ex “Loggerhead Goose” of Latham 1785 (Tachyeres).

Least Grebe (bangsi)
SCI Name: Tachybaptus dominicus bangsi
bangsi
Outram Bangs (1863-1932) US zoologist, collector (syn. Aethopyga gouldiae dabryii, Amazilia rutila x Amazilia tzacatl, subsp. Amphispiza bilineata, syn. Automolus leucophthalmus, subsp. Buteogallus anthracinus, syn. Catharus aurantiirostris melpomene, subsp. Cuculus canorus, syn. Cyanoderma ruficeps davidi, syn. Emberiza godlewskii omissa, syn. Galerida deva, Grallaria, subsp. Halcyon coromanda, subsp. Hapalocrex flaviventer, subsp. Henicorhina leucophrys, syn. Hydrobates castro, subsp. Leptotila verreauxi, syn. Loxia curvirostra himalayensis, subsp. Manacus manacus, syn. Mirafra cantillans, syn. Myiarchus tuberculifer nigricapillus, syn. Parus major nigriloris, subsp. Peucaea carpalis, subsp. Prinia crinigera, syn. Pterocles orientalis arenarius, subsp. Quiscalus niger, syn. Sheppardia sharpei, subsp. Sitta villosa, subsp. Sterna dougallii, subsp. Tachybaptus dominicus, subsp. Tangara gyrola, subsp. Xiphorhynchus triangularis).

Least Grebe (dominicus)
SCI Name: Tachybaptus dominicus dominicus
dominicensis / dominicus
Santo Domingo or San Domingo (= Hispaniola), West Indies.
● Erroneous TL San Domingo (= Puerto Rico); ex “Perroquet de Saint-Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 792, “Papegai à bandeau rouge” of de Buffon 12770-1783, and “Red-banded Parrot” of Latham 1781 (syn. Amazona vittata).
● ex “Colibry de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (Anthracothorax).
● ex “Alouette de mer de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Calidris melanotos).
● Erroneous TL. Santo Domingo (= South Africa) (syn. Caprimulgus pectoralis).
● ex “Tangara de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “Tangara de Saint-Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 156, fig. 2 (Dulus).
● ex “Esmerillon de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “St.-Domingo Falcon” of Latham 1781 (subsp. Falco sparverius).
● ex “Carouge de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (Icterus).
● Erroneous TL. San Domingo (= East Indies); “The oldest name for this bird is, no doubt, Turdus dominicus of P. L. S. Müller ...a gentleman who brought out an edition of Linnæus’s ‘Systema Naturae’ and included species published since 1766 ...It is a great question whether this author is entitled to recognition at the hands of ornithologists, as he was apparently colour-blind – witness his bestowing the name of viridis upon the rufous-and-grey Terpsiphone of South Africa, and castanea upon the totally black Philepitta jala of Madagascar! In the case of Lalage terat he has committed himself greatly, as he has not noticed the numbers of the figures on D’Aubenton’s plate [pl. 273], and has named the upper bird (“Merle des Indes orientales”) dominica, instead of the under figure, which represents a bird from San Domingo [“Merle de Saint-Domingue”]; to this he has given the name of indicus” (Sharpe 1879) (syn Lalage nigra).
● ex “Merle de Saint-Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Mimus polyglottos orpheus).
● ex “Chilcanauhtli” of Hernandez 1651, and “Querquedula dominicensis” or “Sarcelle de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760 (Nomonyx).
● ex “Hirondelle de S. Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “Hirondelle d’Amérique” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 545, fig. 1 (Progne).
● ex “Chouette” or “Grande Chevêche de St. Domingue” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Saint Domingo Owl” of Latham 1785 (syn. Speotyto cunicularia).
● Erroneous TL San Domingo (?= Jamaica); ex “Tourterelle de Saint-Domingue” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 487 (unident.; ?Starnoenas).
● ex "Grèbe de rivière de S. Domingue" of Brisson 1760 (Tachybaptus).
● ex “Tyran de Sainte Domingue” of Brisson 1760, and “Saint Domingo Tyrant” of Latham 1781 (Tyrannus).

Least Grebe (eisenmanni)
SCI Name: Tachybaptus dominicus eisenmanni
eisenmanni
Eugene Eisenmann (1906-1981) US/Panamanian ornithologist, nomenclaturist (Coeligena, subsp. Panterpe insignis, Pheugopedius, subsp. Picumnus olivaceus, Pyrrhura, subsp. Sicalis luteola, subsp. Tachybaptus dominicus).

Least Grebe (brachyrhynchus)
SCI Name: Tachybaptus dominicus brachyrhynchus
brachyrhynchus / brachyrrhynchus
Gr. βραχυς brakhus  short; ῥυγχος rhunkhos  bill.