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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

South Island Oystercatcher

Haematopus finschi G. H. Martens, 1897

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

South Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi), Point Chevalier, Auckland, New Zealand

South Island Oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi), Point Chevalier, Auckland, New Zealand

JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The South Island oystercatcher or South Island pied oystercatcher (Haematopus finschi) is one of two common oystercatcher species found in New Zealand. Its name is often contracted to the acronym "SIPO" (rhyming with "typo"). The indigenous Māori name is tōrea. The scientific name commemorates the German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch (8 August 1839 – 31 January 1917, Braunschweig).

Wikipedia contributors, South Island oystercatcher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:31:25.530687+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Haematopus finschi G. H. Martens, 1897
Name authority
G. H. Martens, 1897
Common name
South Island Oystercatcher
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Charadriiformes
Family
Haematopodidae
Genus
Haematopus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classAves
  9. orderCharadriiformes
  10. familyHaematopodidae
  11. genusHaematopus Linnaeus, 1758
  12. speciesHaematopus finschi G. H. Martens, 1897

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Haematopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
American Black OystercatcherHaematopus bachmani Audubon, 1838HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Sooty OystercatcherHaematopus fuliginosus Gould, 1845HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Magellanic OystercatcherHaematopus leucopodus Garnot, 1826HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Blackish OystercatcherHaematopus ater Vieillot, 1825HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Chatham OystercatcherHaematopus chathamensis E. Hartert, 1927HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Pied OystercatcherHaematopus longirostris Vieillot, 1817HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Canarian OystercatcherHaematopus meadewaldoi Bannerman, 1913HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extinct
African OystercatcherHaematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus Temminck, 1820HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Variable OystercatcherHaematopus unicolor J. R. Forster, 1844HaematopodidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 12 records assigned to Haematopodidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Australia

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560350 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3J8XJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.