The genus
Columba was introduced by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the
tenth edition of his
Systema Naturae. The
type species was designated as the
stock dove (
Columba oenas) by Irish zoologist
Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825. The American pigeons formerly included in
Columba are now split off as a separate genus
Patagioenas. That the American radiation constitutes a distinct lineage is borne out by molecular evidence; in fact, the genus
Patagioenas is
basal to the split between the genus
Columba and the genus
Streptopelia.
Columba, together with
Streptopelia and the smaller genera
Nesoenas and
Spilopelia (syn.
Stigmatopelia), constitute the dominant
evolutionary radiation of the subfamily
Columbinae in
Eurasia and
Africa. The
taxonomic status of some
African pigeons presently placed here is in need of further study; they are smaller than the usual
Columba, and differ in some other aspects. The
lemon dove, until recently classified as
Columba larvata, has now been separated into its own genus
Aplopelia, as
Aplopelia larvata. That notwithstanding, the lineage of the typical pigeons probably diverged from its closest relatives in the
Late Miocene, perhaps some 7-8
million years ago (Ma).
Species (
C. arquatrix) (
C. elphinstonii)
Lord Howe pigeon (
C. vitiensis godmanae) is known only from some travellers' reports There are 34 species recognised in the genus, of which two are extinct: •
Rock dove,
Columba livia •
Hill pigeon,
Columba rupestris •
Snow pigeon,
Columba leuconota •
Speckled pigeon,
Columba guinea •
White-collared pigeon,
Columba albitorques •
Stock dove,
Columba oenas •
Yellow-eyed pigeon,
Columba eversmanni •
Somali pigeon,
Columba oliviae •
Common wood pigeon or wood pigeon,
Columba palumbus •
Trocaz pigeon,
Columba trocaz •
Bolle's pigeon,
Columba bollii •
Laurel pigeon,
Columba junoniae •
Afep pigeon,
Columba unicincta •
African olive pigeon,
Columba arquatrix •
Cameroon olive pigeon,
Columba sjostedti •
São Tomé olive pigeon,
Columba thomensis •
Comoro olive pigeon,
Columba pollenii •
Speckled wood pigeon,
Columba hodgsonii •
White-naped pigeon,
Columba albinucha •
Ashy wood pigeon,
Columba pulchricollis •
Nilgiri wood pigeon,
Columba elphinstonii •
Sri Lanka wood pigeon,
Columba torringtoniae •
Pale-capped pigeon,
Columba punicea •
Silvery pigeon,
Columba argentina – (thought to be
extinct, rediscovered in 2008) •
Andaman wood pigeon,
Columba palumboides •
Black wood pigeon or Japanese wood pigeon,
Columba janthina • †
Bonin wood pigeon,
Columba versicolor –
extinct () • †
Ryukyu wood pigeon,
Columba jouyi –
extinct (late 1930s) •
Metallic pigeon or white-throated pigeon,
Columba vitiensis •
White-headed pigeon,
Columba leucomela •
Yellow-legged pigeon,
Columba pallidiceps •
Eastern bronze-naped pigeon,
Columba delegorguei •
Western bronze-naped pigeon,
Columba iriditorques •
Island bronze-naped pigeon,
Columba malherbii A
fossil species,
C. omnisanctorum, was described from the
Early Pliocene (5.3-3.6 Ma) of the
Gargano Peninsula and surroundings,
Italy. A supposed "falcon" fossil from nearby contemporary and
Middle Pliocene (3.6-2.6 Ma) sites may either be of the same species or another pigeon; the name
Columba pisana would apply for it or (if
conspecific) for both.
C. melitensis is a fossil pigeon from the
Late Pleistocene of
Malta. Only known from a
coracoid described by
Richard Lydekker in 1891, whether it is indeed distinct from the living species and not just a
paleosubspecies needs to be studied, given its late age. Indeterminate remains of a
Columba were also found in
Late Pliocene/
Early Pleistocene (
ELMMZ MN 17) deposits at
Varshets (
Bulgaria) and
Šandalja (
Croatia). Another prehistoric pigeon,
C. congi, was described from Early Pleistocene remains found in the famous
Zhoukoudian caves in
China. This, too, needs to be studied regarding whether it is not just an ancestral population of a still-living species. An extinct pigeon, the
Mauritian wood pigeon (
Columba thiriouxi), was described in 2011. The validity of the species has been challenged and it is not generally recognised. The
holotype is a right
tarsometatarsus collected in 1910. ==References==