Colombian Grebe

Open encyclopedia reference

The Colombian grebe (Podiceps andinus) is an extinct species of flightless grebe that inhabited the Bogotá wetlands on the Bogotá savanna in the Eastern Ranges of the Andes of Colombia. The species was still abundant in Lake Tota in 1945. The species has often been considered a subspecies of black-necked grebe (P. nigricollis), and is genetically nested within it; it differed from black-necked grebe most notably in having a reddish-brown (not black) foreneck, and more orangey-toned (rather than yellow) ear tufts. The decline of the Colombian grebe is attributed to wetland drainage, siltation, pesticide pollution, disruption by reed harvesting, hunting, competition, and predation of chicks by invasive introduced rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The primary reason was loss of habitat: drainage of wetlands and siltation resulted in higher concentrations of pollutants, causing eutrophication across Lake Tota. This destroyed the open, submergent pondweed (Potamogeton) vegetation and resulted in the formation of a dense monoculture of water weed (Elodea). By 1968, the species had declined to approximately 300 birds.

Wikipedia contributors, Colombian grebe; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:43:56.668201+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Podiceps andinus (Meyer de Schauensee, 1959)

Name authority

(Meyer de Schauensee, 1959)

Common name

Colombian Grebe

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Podicipediformes

Family

Podicipedidae

Genus

Podiceps

Extinction status

Recorded extinct

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. orderPodicipediformes
10. familyPodicipedidae Bonaparte, 1831
11. genusPodiceps Latham, 1787
12. speciesPodiceps andinus (Meyer de Schauensee, 1959)

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 21 records assigned to Podicipedidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

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

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=562345 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:4KPNL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.