Alopecoenas, SHARPE, 1899

Worthy, Trevor H. & Burley, David V., 2020, Prehistoric avifaunas from the Kingdom of Tonga, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 189, pp. 998-1045 : 1005

GENUS ALOPECOENAS SHARPE, 1899

Remarks: Recent molecular analyses have revealed that the ground dove genus Gallicolumba, sensu Dickinson (2003) , was paraphyletic ( Jønsson et al., 2011; Moyle et al., 2013); therefore, it has been separated into Gallicolumba for the bleeding-hearted doves and relatives and Alopecoenas for the ground doves, including all those east of Papua New Guinea ( Dickinson & Remsen, 2013). Alopecoenas stairi ( Gray, 1856) is the only extant species of the genus found in the Fiji – Samoa – Tonga region ( Dickinson & Remsen, 2013). The following specimens were compared with bones of this species from Fiji (NMNZ S38223 ). Diagnostic features for bones of this genus were given by Worthy & Wragg (2003, 2008 and Worthy et al. (2015).

ALOPECOENAS STAIRI (G.R. GRAY, 1856) , FRIENDLY GROUND DOVE

Material: Hopoate: NISP = 8, MNI = 3. Nukuleka: NISP = 1, MNI = 1. Ofu: NISP = 3, MNI = 2. Vuna: NISP = 6, MNI = 2.