Gallinago kakuki Steadman & Takano, 2016

Suárez, William, 2022, Catalogue of Cuban fossil and subfossil birds, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 142 (1), pp. 247-248 : 22-23

5. † Gallinago kakuki Steadman & Takano, 2016

West Indian Snipe (Becasina Isleña)

Gallinago kakuki Steadman & Takano, 2016 , Zootaxa 4109: 348.

Capella delicata : Wetmore 1937: 435 [ Bahamas].

Capella sp. : Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 31 [ Bahamas].

Capella sp. : Morgan 1994: 480 [ Cayman Islands; see also Morgan 1977a,b].

Capella sp. : Suárez 2004b: 155 [ Cuba].

History.— October 1937: three specimens from ‘Great Exuma’ (= Little Exuma fide Hecht 1955) identified as ‘ Capella delicata (Ord.) ’, but said to probably ‘represent an extinct species’ of large size ( Wetmore 1937: 435). 25 March 1977: fossils from Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands, identified as a new, extinct large species of Capella ( Morgan 1977a: 68–73, b: 21; see Morgan 1994: 480–481). 5 August 1982: summary of the fossil record of this large snipe (as ‘ Capella sp. ’) in the West Indies, with comparisons of known material, including new specimens identified from Banana Hole, New Providence, Bahamas ( Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 31–33). April 2004: recorded from Cuba as ‘ Capella sp. ’ on basis of four specimens, including one immature humerus which suggests the bird was a year-round resident in the Antillean subregion ( Suárez 2004b: 157). 9 May 2016: original description of G. kakuki published ( Steadman & Takano 2016), which species seems to be more similar to Old World Gallinago .

Holotype.—Complete right humerus, UF 297382 ( Steadman & Takano 2016: 348, figs. 3A [anconal], 4A [palmar]). Collected in 1958–60 by J. C. Dickinson et al. at the type locality ( Steadman & Takano 2016: 348).

Type locality.—Banana Hole, New Providence, Bahamas ( Steadman & Takano 2016: 348).

Referred material.— Humerus: right, MNHNCu 75.4709 (fig. 1: left [palmar]), OA 3138; left, MNHNCu 75.4711 (immature). Ulna: right, MNHNCu 75.4712 (fig. 1: right [palmar]). Cited material and figures are from Suárez (2004b).

Distribution.—Cave deposits in west and central Cuba (see Appendix). Pinar del Río. Los Palacios: PEA ( Suárez 2004b: 155 [‘ Capella sp. ’]). Sancti Spíritus. Yaguajay: SPH and SPS ( Suárez 2004b: 155–156 [‘ Capella sp. ’]).

Direct 14 C dating .—None in Cuba. For dating of associated fauna from PEA (17,406 ± 161 14 C yr BP), see Suárez & Díaz-Franco (2003: 373).

Notes.—Remains of this snipe are sporadically found in Cuban cave deposits containing ancient barn owl pellets (cf. Tyto furcata and T. noeli ). G. kakuki had a wider distribution in the West Indies that also included the Bahamas and Cayman Islands ( Olson & Hilgartner 1982, Steadman & Takano 2016) where apparently it was a resident, endemic species ( Suárez 2004b, Steadman & Takano 2016). Probably the first material to be collected was from Isla de la Juventud (= Isla de Pinos), west Cuba, as Peterson (1917: 359) noted ‘few limb-bones of snipes’ in the remains he studied, but this requires corroboration.