Rapa shearwater

The Rapa shearwater (Puffinus myrtae), is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. It breeds on the surrounding islets of Rapa in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia where it is known locally as the kaki kaki.[2]

Rapa shearwater
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Puffinus
Species:
P. myrtae
Binomial name
Puffinus myrtae
Bourne, 1959
Synonyms

Puffinus newelli myrtae
Puffinus assimilis myrtae
Puffinus auricularis myrtae

Its relationship is confusing. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater (Puffinus newelli) and possibly the little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis). It used to be included in the former as a subspecies and was long considered a subspecies of the latter.

Not much is known about its decline. It most likely once occurred on Rapa itself, though this population has been extirpated by the polynesian rat, feral goats, and feral cats.

References
  1. {{cite iucn|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/details/132468585/0|title=Puffinus myrtae |author=BirdLife International |author-link=BirdLife International |year=2018 |access-date=15 December 2018|ref=harv}}
  2. The Ornithological Society of Polynesia
  • Austin, Jeremy J. (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6(1): 77–88. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060 (HTML abstract)
  • Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent & Pasquet, Eric (2004): A global molecular phylogeny of the small Puffinus shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex. Auk 121(3): 847–864. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0847:AGMPOT]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract
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