Puerto Rican spindalis
| Puerto Rican spindalis | |
|---|---|
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| Male Puerto Rican spindalis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Spindalis |
| Species: | S. portoricensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Spindalis portoricensis Bryant, 1866 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Spindalis zena portoricensis |
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| Bird Call | |
 Puerto Rican spindalis vocals
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Spindalis zena portoricensis
The Puerto Rican spindalis (Spindalis portoricensis) is a bird endemic to the island of Puerto Rico, where it is commonly known as reina mora. The species is widely distributed throughout the island and is an important part of the Puerto Rican ecosystem because of its help in seed dispersal and plant reproduction. The Puerto Rican spindalis has been proposed as the national bird of the United States Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican spindalis was originally classified as Spindalis zena portoricensis, making it a subspecies of the western spindalis (Spindalis zena). In 1997, an article was published which presented an extensive analysis of the genus Spindalis. The report concluded, based on differences in weight, color, pattern, distribution, and voice, that a split of S. zena was necessary. Four distinct species were identified—Spindalis dominicensis, Spindalis nigricephala, Spindalis portoricensis and Spindalis zena. S. zena was also subdivided into five subspecies: S. z. pretrei, S. z. salvini, S. z. benedicti, S. z. townsendi and S. z. zena. Specifically, the difference in vocalization, and morphology, distinguish S. portoricensis from S. dominicensis.
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