Torotoroka scops owl
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Otus
Species:
O. rutilus
Subspecies:
O. r. madagascariensis
Trinomial name
Otus rutilus madagascariensis
(Grandidier, 1867)

The Torotoroka scops owl (Otus rutilus madagascariensis) is a subspecies of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the western parts of Madagascar, and was previously regarded as its own species. However, O. madagascariensis and the rainforest scops owl Otus rutilus have now been re-lumped following Fuchs et al. (2007) as the Madagascar scops owl or Malagasy scops owl.[1] Therefore this taxon now becomes a subspecies, Otus rutilus madagascariensis.[2]

Description

It is very similar to the rainforest scops owl Otus rutilus, and possibly indistinguishable from it.[3] The two were formerly identified by different habitat preferences, with Torotoroka preferring drier habitats and Rainforest preferring wetter forests. Some small plumage and vocal differences were noted but minimal genetic divergence was found. Therefore, Clements has merged the two species.[4]

Distribution and habitat

This taxon is endemic to the western parts of Madagascar.[5]

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests, as well as man-made habitats such as parks, up to 2000m above sea level.[5]

Taxonomy

The Torotoroka scops owl, the Mayotte scops owl Otus mayottensis, the Pemba scops owl Otus pembaensis and the rainforest scops owl Otus rutilus have all previously been lumped as one species. The taxonomy is in a state of flux but recent genetic studies have placed the Pemba scops owl closer to the clade containing the African scops owl Otus sengalensis, while the Mayotte scops owl is clearly separate from the remaining two. The status of the rainforest and Torotoroka scops owls as separate species is debatable as there is very little genetic distance between the two taxa[6][7] and subsequent studies have suggested that the plumage differences between O. rutilus and O. madagascariensis are small and that their voices intergrade.[8] Therefore the rainforest and Torotoroka scops owls become subspecies under the new name Madagascar scops owl, taking the scientific name Otus rutilus.[8]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012) Species factsheet: Otus rutilus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 17/01/2012
  2. ↑ "Malagasy Scops-owl Otus [rutilus or madagascariensis] (= Otus rutilus) (Pucheran, 1849)". Avibase. Denis Lepage. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Malagasy or Rainforest Scops Owls". beautyofbirds.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Updates & Corrections – October 2022 | Clements Checklist". www.birds.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  5. 1 2 "Torotoroka Scops Owls". Beauty of Birds. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Fuchs, Jérôme; et al. (2008). "Tracing the colonization history of the Indian Ocean scops-owls (Strigiformes: Otus) with further insight into the spatio-temporal origin of the Malagasy avifauna". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8 (1): 197. Bibcode:2008BMCEE...8..197F. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-197. PMC 2483963. PMID 18611281.
  7. ↑ Fuchs, Jérôme; Pons, Jean-Marc; Pasquet, Eric; Raherilalao, Marie Jeanne; Goodman, Steven M. (2007). "Geographical Structure of Genetic Variation in the Malagasy scops-owl inferred from Mitochondrial Sequence Data (abstract)". Condor. 109 (2): 408–418. doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2007)109[408:gsogvi]2.0.co;2.
  8. 1 2 "Madagascar Scops-owl (Otus rutilus)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
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