NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Principe Seedeater
Crithagra rufobrunnea (G. R. Gray, 1862)
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 Príncipe seedeater (Crithagra rufobrunnea) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found only on the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe off the west coast of Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The Príncipe seedeater was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the Príncipe seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.
Wikipedia contributors, Príncipe seedeater; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:14:52.418456+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Crithagra rufobrunnea (G. R. Gray, 1862)
- Name authority
- (G. R. Gray, 1862)
- Common name
- Principe Seedeater
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Crithagra
- 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
- familyFringillidae Leach, 1820
- genusCrithagra Swainson, 1827
- speciesCrithagra rufobrunnea (G. R. Gray, 1862)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Crithagra. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-throated CanaryCrithagra albogularis A. Smith, 1833 | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated CanaryCrithagra atrogularis (A. Smith, 1836) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-faced CanaryCrithagra capistrata Finsch, 1870 | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sao Tome GrosbeakCrithagra concolor (Barboza du Bocage, 1888) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-bellied CanaryCrithagra dorsostriata Reichenow, 1887 | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African CitrilCrithagra citrinelloides (Rüppell, 1840) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lemon-breasted CanaryCrithagra citrinipectus (Clancey & Lawson, 1960) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yemen SerinCrithagra menachensis (Ogilvie-Grant, 1913) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-eared SeedeaterCrithagra mennelli (E. C. Chubb, 1908) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-fronted CanaryCrithagra mozambica (P. L. Statius Müller, 1776) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western CitrilCrithagra frontalis (Reichenow, 1904) | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-rumped SeedeaterCrithagra leucopygia Sundevall, 1850 | FringillidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Serinus rufobrunneus (G. R. Gray, 1862) (G. R. Gray, 1862) | 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=997813 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:ZJF4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.