St. Lucia Black Finch

SCI Name:  Melanospiza richardsoni
Protonym:  Loxigilla richardsoni Auk 3 p.382
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Thraupidae / Melanospiza
Taxonomy Code:  slbfin1
Type Locality:  mountains of St. Lucia.
Author:  Cory
Publish Year:  1886
IUCN Status:  Endangered

DEFINITIONS

MELANOSPIZA
(Thraupidae; Ϯ St Lucia Blackfinch M. richardsoni) Gr. μελας melas,  μελανος melanos  black; σπιζα spiza  finch  < σπιζω spizō  to chirp; "Geospiza. This heteromorphic genus is of very uncertain relationship. Some of the species resemble somewhat the Central American genus Cyanoloxia, but perhaps still more the West Indian genus Melanospiza,²    ...    ² Melanospiza, Ridgway, new genus.  Type, Loxigilla richardsoni, Cory.  Generic characters.—  Similar to Geospiza, Gould (size of type intermediate between G. fortis and G. fuliginosa), but tail relatively much longer and wing much more rounded (first quill shorter than seventh); mandible relatively broader basally (basal width considerably exceeding length of gonys); culmen quite straight, and mandibular rami much narrower.  Coloration: Adult male wholly deep black, except legs and feet, which are brownish white. (Female and young unknown.)" (Ridgway 1897); "Genus Melanospiza.  (Type, Loxigilla richardsoni Cory.)  Related to Euetheia Reichenbach, but bill relatively much larger and with the subbasal angle of the mandibular tomium produced into a distinct point." (Ridgway 1898).

richardsoni / richardsonii
● Sir John Richardson (1787-1865) Scottish surgeon-explorer, zoologist, botanist, geologist (subsp. Aegolius funereus, syn. Contopus sordidulus, subsp. Dendragapus obscurus, Eubucco, subsp. Falco columbarius, syn. Gavia adamsii, syn. Ixoreus naevius, syn. Rhodostethia rosea, syn. Sayornis phoebe, syn. Stercorarius parasiticus).
● William Blaine (or Blaney) Richardson, Sr. (1868-1927) US collector in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador 1887-1927 (syn. Chlorospingus dwighti, syn. Corvus corax sinuatus, subsp. Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus, syn. Icterus graduacauda, subsp. Myiothlypis luteoviridis, syn. Saltator grandis plumbiceps, syn. Sporophila minuta parva, syn. Zenaida aurita zenaida).
● William Everett Richardson (1825-1902) US shipping manager, collector (Melanospiza).
● William Blaine Richardson, Jr. (1891-1972) US banker in Mexico, mammalogist, collector in New Guinea 1938-1939 (subsp. Zapornia tabuensis).