Western Grebe

SCI Name:  Aechmophorus occidentalis
Protonym:  Podiceps occidentalis Rep.Expl.Surv.RR.Pac. 9 p.liv,894
Taxonomy:  Podicipediformes / Podicipedidae / Aechmophorus
Taxonomy Code:  wesgre
Type Locality:  Fort Steilacoom, Washington.
Author:  Lawrence
Publish Year:  1858
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

AECHMOPHORUS
(Podicipedidae; Ϯ Western Grebe A. occidentalis) Gr. αιχμοφορος aikhmophoros  spearman  < αιχμη aikhmē  spear; φερω pherō  to carry;  "Gr. αιχμη, a spear, and φορος, bearing; in allusion to the long, slender, sharp bill" (Coues 1882) (pace Gotch 1981: “reference to the tarsal bones of the foot which are narrow and shaped like a blade”); "Genus I. ÆCHMOPHORUS Coues.  N.G.   Gen. Char. Bill very long, exceeding the head, straight or very slightly recurved, slender, attenuated towards the tip, which is very acute. Culmen straight or slightly concave. Commissure about straight. Gonys convex throughout its whole length, the angle scarcely appreciable. Nasal groove long, shallow, and narrow.  Bare loral space very narrow. Wings rather long, pointed, the outer primaries much attenuated.  Legs very long.  Tarsus as long as the middle toe and claw, exceeding the bill, excessively compressed. Outer lateral toe much longer than the middle. Lobes united at base for a very short distance. Size large; body slender; neck very long.  Head with moderate crests, but without decided ruffs?   Type. Podiceps  occidentalis, Lawr." (Coues 1862); "Aechmophorus Coues, 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 229.  Type, by original designation, Podiceps occidentalis Lawrence." (AOU Checklist, 7th ed., 1998, p. 8).
Var. Aichmophorus.

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).

SUBSPECIES

Western Grebe (occidentalis)
SCI Name: Aechmophorus occidentalis 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).

Western Grebe (ephemeralis)
SCI Name: Aechmophorus occidentalis ephemeralis
ephemeralis
Mod. L. ephemeralis  ephemeral, short-lived  < Gr. εφημερος ephēmeros  ephemeral, short-lived, living but one day  < επι epi  during; ἡμερα hēmera  day.
● "So named because of the poor or partial science on which the Western Grebe was split into two species" (A. B. Johnson 2012) (subsp. Aechmophorus occidentalis).