The genus
Ptilinopus was introduced in 1825 by the English naturalist
William Swainson with the
rose-crowned fruit dove (
Ptilinopus regina) as the
type species. The genus name combines the
Ancient Greek words meaning "
down feather" with meaning "foot". The many species of this genus can be further grouped by geography and by certain shared characteristics. The fruit doves of the Sunda Islands and northern Australia, such as the pink-headed fruit dove and
banded fruit dove, have comparatively longer tails than other species, and are notable for their solid colouration on the head, neck and breast, with a black band across the belly. Another grouping can be made of certain fruit doves
endemic to New Guinea, the
Moluccas, and the
Bismarck Archipelago, including the
carunculated fruit dove, knob-billed fruit dove, and others; these are notable for their grey colouration on the head or shoulder and/or enlarged cere (part of the bill). This group is uncharacteristically not
sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females look alike. The orange dove,
golden dove, and
whistling dove, all endemic to
Fiji and sometimes placed in their own genus
Chrysoena, have in common their small size, compact shape, yellow or orange colouration in the males, and hair-like body feathers. They also are known for their rather un-pigeon-like vocalizations, which sound like snapping, barking, or whistling, respectively. Finally, the Pacific Islands provide homes to a number of species that share generally green colouration with crimson caps or crowns, ventriloquial cooing or hooting, and a distinct texture of the breast feathers. This result was confirmed by a more comprehensive study of the fruit doves by Alice Cibois and collaborators that was published in 2014. Rather than expanding
Ptilinopus to include the morphologically distinct blue pigeons, the genus has been split with two species moved to the resurrected genus
Megaloprepia and nine species moved to the resurrected genus
Ramphiculus. Even after these changes, genetic evidence indicates that
Ptilinopus remains paraphyletic. Cibois and collaborators proposed resurrecting an additional genus,
Chrysoena, but in their analysis the statistical support for some of the nodes was weak and this proposal has not been generally adopted.
Species (
Ptilinopus nainus), Lobo, New Guinea, 1828 The genus contains 47 species. •
Banded fruit dove,
Ptilinopus cinctus –
Bali and
Lesser Sunda Islands •
Black-banded fruit dove,
Ptilinopus alligator – north-central Australia (western escarpment of
Arnhem Land) •
Red-naped fruit dove,
Ptilinopus dohertyi – forest of
Sumba (western
Lesser Sunda Islands) •
Pink-headed fruit dove,
Ptilinopus porphyreus – montane forest of southern
Sumatra,
Java, and
Bali •
Pink-spotted fruit dove,
Ptilinopus perlatus –
New Guinea and many satellites •
Ornate fruit dove,
Ptilinopus ornatus –
New Guinea •
Tanna fruit dove,
Ptilinopus tannensis –
Vanuatu including
Banks Islands •
Orange-fronted fruit dove,
Ptilinopus aurantiifrons –
New Guinea, including
Raja Ampat Islands (off western
New Guinea),
Aru Islands (off southwestern
New Guinea),
Yapen (
Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern
New Guinea), and
D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago (off southeastern
New Guinea) •
Wallace's fruit dove,
Ptilinopus wallacii – southern
Moluccas including
Kai Islands, and lowlands of southwestern
New Guinea, including
Aru Islands (off southwestern
New Guinea) •
Superb fruit dove,
Ptilinopus superbus –
Sulawesi to east Australia,
Bismarck Archipelago and central east
Solomon Islands •
Many-colored fruit dove,
Ptilinopus perousii –
Fiji (southwest
Polynesia),
Tonga and
Samoa (central
Polynesia) •
Purple-capped fruit dove,
Ptilinopus ponapensis –
Caroline Islands (
Chuuk and
Pohnpei) •
Kosrae fruit dove,
Ptilinopus hernsheimi –
Kosrae (eastern
Caroline Islands) •
Crimson-crowned fruit dove,
Ptilinopus porphyraceus – islets of
Fiji (southwest
Polynesia),
Wallis and
Futuna (northeast of
Fiji),
Tonga,
Samoa and
Niue (central
Polynesia) •
Palau fruit dove,
Ptilinopus pelewensis –
Palau (
Babelthuap to
Angaur; western
Caroline Islands, western
Micronesia) •
Lilac-crowned fruit dove,
Ptilinopus rarotongensis –
Rarotonga and
Atiu (south
Cook Islands, east
Polynesia) •
Mariana fruit dove,
Ptilinopus roseicapilla –
Mariana Islands (
Saipan,
Tinian,
Agiguan,
Rota, and
Guam) •
Rose-crowned fruit dove,
Ptilinopus regina – central, east
Lesser Sunda Islands and north, east Australia •
Silver-capped fruit dove,
Ptilinopus richardsii – south
Solomon Islands •
Raiatea fruit dove,
Ptilinopus chrysogaster – western
Society Islands (
Bora Bora,
Tahaʻa,
Huahine, and
Maupiti) •
Grey-green fruit dove,
Ptilinopus purpuratus – east
Society Islands (east
Polynesia) •
Makatea fruit dove,
Ptilinopus chalcurus –
Makatea Island (western
Tuamotu Archipelago) •
Atoll fruit dove,
Ptilinopus coralensis – larger islands in
Tuamotu Archipelago (except
Makatea) •
Red-bellied fruit dove,
Ptilinopus greyi –
Ndai (south-central
Solomon Islands),
Temotu (southeastern
Solomon Islands), and
Vanuatu to
New Caledonia (including
Loyalty Islands) •
Rapa fruit dove,
Ptilinopus huttoni –
Rapa Iti (Austral Archipelago); seriously endangered •
White-capped fruit dove,
Ptilinopus dupetithouarsii –
Marquesas Islands (northeast
Polynesia) •
Red-moustached fruit dove,
Ptilinopus mercierii –
Marquesas Islands (northeast
Polynesia) •
Henderson fruit dove,
Ptilinopus insularis –
Henderson Island (central
Pitcairn Islands group, southeastern
Polynesia) •
Coroneted fruit dove,
Ptilinopus coronulatus –
New Guinea and satellites •
Beautiful fruit dove,
Ptilinopus pulchellus –
New Guinea including western Papuan islands •
Blue-capped fruit dove,
Ptilinopus monacha –
Morotai to
Obi Islands (northern
Moluccas) and
Damar Island (northeastern
Lesser Sunda Islands) •
White-bibbed fruit dove,
Ptilinopus rivoli – central, south
Moluccas,
New Guinea and satellites and
Bismarck Archipelago •
Geelvink fruit dove,
Ptilinopus speciosus –
Numfor,
Biak, and
Yapen (
Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern
New Guinea) •
Yellow-bibbed fruit dove,
Ptilinopus solomonensis –
Bismarck Archipelago and
Solomon Islands •
Claret-breasted fruit dove,
Ptilinopus viridis – central
Moluccas,
Bird's Head Peninsula (northwest
New Guinea), north coastal
New Guinea and satellites and
Solomon Islands •
White-headed fruit dove,
Ptilinopus eugeniae –
Makira and satellite islands (southeastern
Solomon Islands) •
Orange-bellied fruit dove,
Ptilinopus iozonus –
New Guinea and many satellites •
Knob-billed fruit dove,
Ptilinopus insolitus –
Bismarck Archipelago except
Admiralty Islands •
Grey-headed fruit dove,
Ptilinopus hyogastrus – northern
Moluccas (
Morotai,
Halmahera,
Bacan Islands,
Tidore, and
Ternate) •
Carunculated fruit dove,
Ptilinopus granulifrons –
Obi Islands (north-central
Moluccas) •
Black-naped fruit dove,
Ptilinopus melanospilus –
Java region, west, central
Lesser Sunda Islands,
Sulawesi region and south Philippines •
Dwarf fruit dove,
Ptilinopus nainus – lowlands of
New Guinea (except for northwestern
New Guinea and north coast of southeastern
New Guinea), also
Raja Ampat islands (off western
New Guinea) •
Negros fruit dove,
Ptilinopus arcanus –
Negros (known from a 1953 specimen from
Mount Canlaon) •
Orange dove,
Ptilinopus victor – central north
Fiji (southwest
Polynesia) •
Golden dove,
Ptilinopus luteovirens – western
Fiji (
Waya Group,
Viti Levu,
Beqa,
Ovalau, and
Gau) •
Whistling dove,
Ptilinopus layardi – southwestern
Fiji (
Kadavu Island and
Ono) •
Cloven-feathered dove,
Ptilinopus holosericea –
New Caledonia and
Île des Pins ==Description==