Snowy Plover / Charadrius nivosus
Snowy Plover
SCI Name:
Protonym: Aegialitis nivosa Rep.Expl.Surv.RR.Pac. 9 p.xlvi,696
Taxonomy: Charadriiformes / Charadriidae / Charadrius
Taxonomy Code: snoplo5
Type Locality: Presidio, California.
Author: Cassin
Publish Year: 1858
IUCN Status: Near Threatened
DEFINITIONS
CHARADRIUS
(Charadriidae; Ϯ Ringed Plover C. hiaticula) Late L. charadrius yellowish bird mentioned in the Vulgate Bible (late 4th century) < Gr. χαραδριος kharadrios unknown plain-coloured nocturnal bird that dwelt in ravines and river valleys < χαραδρα kharadra ravine. According to some authors the sight of it was said to cure jaundice. Early identifications included the Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus; "79. CHARADRIUS. Rostrum teretiusculum, obtusum. Pedes tridactyli." (Linnaeus 1758); "Charadrius Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 150. Type, by tautonymy, Charadrius hiaticula Linné. (Charadrios s. Hiaticula Aldrovandus, prebinomial specific name in synonymy.)" (Peters, 1934, II, p. 245). Linnaeus's Charadrius comprised eleven species (C. cristatus, C. Hiaticula, C. alexandrinus, C. vociferus, C. ægyptius, C. Morinellus, C. apricarius, C. Pluvialis, C. Oedicnemus, C. Himantopus, C. spinosus).
Var. Charadrias, Charadias.
Synon. Aegialeus, Aegialitis, Aegialophilus, Afraegialis, Afroxyechus, Cirrepidesmus, Eupoda, Eupodella, Helenaegialus, Hiaticula, Hyetoceryx, Leucopolius, Neocharadrius, Nesoceryx, Ochthodromus, Oxyechus, Pagoa, Pagolla, Paroxyechus, Pernettyva, Pipus, Pluviorhynchus, Podasocys, Zonibyx.
nivosa / nivosus
L. nivosus snowy < nix, nivis snow.
SUBSPECIES
Snowy Plover (nivosus)
SCI Name: Charadrius nivosus nivosus
nivosa / nivosus
L. nivosus snowy < nix, nivis snow.
Snowy Plover (occidentalis)
SCI Name: Charadrius nivosus occidentalis
occidentale / occidentalis
L. occidentalis western < occidens, occidentis west < occidere to set. This toponym was frequently given to taxa discovered in locations west of previously known populations.
● Cocal, Western Andes, Colombia (Dysithamnus).
● Jamaica; ex “Onocrotalus” or “Pelecanus fuscus” of Sloane 1725, “Pelican of America” of Edwards 1747, and “Pelecanus” of Browne 1756 (Pelecanus).
● TL. Day Dawn, Western Australia; "Westralian Wedgebill" (Mathews 1912) (Psophodes).
UPPERCASE: current genus
Uppercase first letter: generic synonym
● and ● See: generic homonyms
lowercase: species and subspecies
●: early names, variants, mispellings
‡: extinct
†: type species
Gr.: ancient Greek
L.: Latin
<: derived from
syn: synonym of
/: separates historical and modern geographic names
ex: based on
TL: type locality
OD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)