NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Numenius tahitiensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands.
It is known in Mangareva as kivi or kivikivi and in Rakahanga as kihi; it is said to be the origin of the name for the New Zealand flightless bird kiwi although some linguists like Robert Blust has proposed an alternate origin from Proto-Oceanic *kiwiwi, the Pacific golden plover, instead.
Wikipedia contributors, Bristle-thighed curlew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:53:25.941742+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Numenius tahitiensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Name authority
- (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Common name
- Bristle-thighed Curlew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Numenius
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusNumenius Brisson, 1760
- speciesNumenius tahitiensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Numenius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern CurlewNumenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little CurlewNumenius minutus Gould, 1841 | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus (Linnaeus, 1758) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus Bechstein, 1812 | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquata (Linnaeus, 1758) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eskimo CurlewNumenius borealis (J. R. Forster, 1772) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Slender-billed CurlewNumenius tenuirostris Vieillot, 1817 | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Scolopax tahitiensis J. F. Gmelin, 1789 J. F. Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Oceania
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176604 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:483T7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.