Samoan White-eye
Zosterops samoensis Murphy & Mathews, 1929
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 Samoan white-eye (Zosterops samoensis) is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the island of Savai'i in Samoa.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.
It is threatened by habitat loss.
In March of 2026, the species was added to a list made by Search for Lost Birds, an organization aimed at rediscovering bird species not seen in the last 10 years or more, along with the Mindoro bleeding-heart (Last seen in 2005), Minahasa shortwing, Vanikoro white-eye, Mindoro imperial pigeon, and the Guadalcanal honeyeater.
Wikipedia contributors, Samoan white-eye; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:40:46.939307+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zosterops samoensis Murphy & Mathews, 1929
- Name authority
- Murphy & Mathews, 1929
- Common name
- Samoan White-eye
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Zosterops
- 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
- orderPasseriformes
- familyZosteropidae Bonaparte, 1853
- genusZosterops Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- speciesZosterops samoensis Murphy & Mathews, 1929
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Zosterops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Abyssinian White-eyeZosterops abyssinicus Guerin-Meneville, 1843 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-ringed White-eyeZosterops anomalus A. B. Meyer & Wiglesworth, 1896 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-crowned White-eyeZosterops atrifrons Wallace, 1864 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Reunion Grey White-eyeZosterops borbonicus (J. R. Forster, 1781) | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zosterops capensis Sundevall, 1850 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky White-eyeZosterops cinereus (Kittlitz, 1832) | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zosterops citrinella Bonaparte, 1850 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bridled White-eyeZosterops conspicillatus (Kittlitz, 1833) | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-flanked White-eyeZosterops erythropleurus Swinhoe, 1863 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zosterops feae Salvadori, 1901 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pearl-bellied White-eyeZosterops grayi Wallace, 1864 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese White-eyeZosterops japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=563870 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:5D8NY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.