NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Tahiti Sandpiper
Prosobonia leucoptera (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.
Tahitian Sandpiper, Prosobonia leucoptera.
Georg Forster · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Tahiti sandpiper or Tahitian sandpiper (Prosobonia leucoptera) is an extinct member of the large wader family Scolopacidae that was endemic to Tahiti in French Polynesia until its extinction sometime before 1819.
It was discovered in 1773 during Captain Cook's second voyage, when a single specimen seems to have been collected, but it became extinct in the nineteenth century. Only one museum specimen is known to exist, held in the Aves collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The bird's name in the Tahitian language was transcribed as toromē.
Wikipedia contributors, Tahiti sandpiper; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:44:39.160228+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Prosobonia leucoptera (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Name authority
- (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Common name
- Tahiti Sandpiper
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Prosobonia
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusProsobonia Bonaparte, 1850
- speciesProsobonia leucoptera (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Prosobonia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Moorea SandpiperProsobonia ellisi Sharpe, 1906 | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Tuamotu SandpiperProsobonia parvirostris (Peale, 1848) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kiritimati SandpiperProsobonia cancellata (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tringa leucoptera 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.
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=562480 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:4MVWL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.