NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819)
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 pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 38–46 cm (15–18 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Pectoral sandpiper; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:14:52.417460+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Calidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819)
- Name authority
- (Vieillot, 1819)
- Common name
- Pectoral Sandpiper
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
- 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
- genusCalidris Merrem, 1804
- speciesCalidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Calidris. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Purple SandpiperCalidris maritima (Brünnich, 1764) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buff-breasted SandpiperCalidris subruficollis (Vieillot, 1819) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| SanderlingCalidris alba (Pallas, 1764) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan, 1763) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus (Bonaparte, 1826) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western SandpiperCalidris mauri (Cabanis, 1857) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little StintCalidris minuta (Leisler, 1812) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rock SandpiperCalidris ptilocnemis (Coues, 1873) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusilla (Linnaeus, 1766) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollis (Pallas, 1776) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii (Leisler, 1812) | ScolopacidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris (Horsfield, 1821) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Tringa melanotos Vieillot, 1819 Vieillot, 1819 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
South America
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=176653 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:PK4C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.