NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Samoan Island Thrush
Turdus samoensis Tristram, 1879
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.
Turdus poliocephalus samoensis Tristram, 1879
Tristram, 1879 · CC0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Samoan island thrush (Turdus samoensis) is a species of passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is endemic to the Samoan Islands, which includes Samoa and American Samoa. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the island thrush, but in 2024 the island thrush complex was split into 17 different species by the IOC and Clements checklist based on morphological and phylogenic differences.
Wikipedia contributors, Samoan island thrush; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:51:27.206633+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Turdus samoensis Tristram, 1879
- Name authority
- Tristram, 1879
- Common name
- Samoan Island Thrush
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
- 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
- familyTurdidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusTurdus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesTurdus samoensis Tristram, 1879
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Turdus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-necked ThrushTurdus albicollis Vieillot, 1818 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Creamy-bellied ThrushTurdus amaurochalinus Cabanis, 1851 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated RobinTurdus assimilis Cabanis, 1851 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated ThrushTurdus atrogularis Jarocki, 1819 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Comoro ThrushTurdus bewsheri E. Newton, 1877 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky ThrushTurdus eunomus Temminck, 1831 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-sided ThrushTurdus feae (Salvadori, 1887) | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-legged ThrushTurdus flavipes Vieillot, 1818 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cocoa ThrushTurdus fumigatus M. H. C. Lichtenstein, 1823 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Clay-colored RobinTurdus grayi Bonaparte, 1838 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-backed ThrushTurdus hortulorum P. L. Sclater, 1863 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-eyed ThrushTurdus jamaicensis J. F. Gmelin, 1789 | TurdidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Turdus poliocephalus samoensis Tristram, 1879 Tristram, 1879 | 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.
- Tristram, & Henry Baker. (1879). Notes on Collections of Birds sent from New Caledonia, from Lifu (one of the Loyalty Islands). The Ibis, Vol. 3, No. 10. 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:V9R9G. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.