Talk:Xenicus

Proposed merge of Pachyplichas into Xenicus

An ancient DNA study from 2016 determined that Pachyplichas is nested within Xenicus. Although this study has been cited several times in relevant Wikipedia articles, seven years on the revised taxonomy has not been fully implemented on Wikipedia. I was able to access the full text through the Wikipedia Library. The discussion section of the study unequivocally confirms that Traversia is a distinct genus (which is good on Wikipedia), while Pachyplichas is a synonym of Xenicus. The study specifically states, "that Pachyplichas jagmi Millener 1988 and Pachyplichas yaldwyni Millener 1988 become Xenicus jagmi and Xenicus yaldwyni, respectively."

I recommend merging Pachyplichas into Xenicus, then determining what clean-up is appropriate for New Zealand wren and other articles. On a related note, I believe that the species pair North Island stout-legged wren and South Islands stout-legged wren should only be represented by a single article. Although the aforementioned study doesn't question their validity as distinct species, both Wikipedia articles are currently stubs. (Consider the articles for the New Zealand goose and adzebills. In each case, only one article represents a genus containing two recently extinct species. I suppose there’s not enough information to talk about to merit splitting the articles on the species level.) Columbianmammoth (talk) 07:40, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Comment: A 2023 paper from Te Papa Press refers to this species as "Xenicus yaldwyni (Millener, 1988)" and "Passeriformes Xenicus yaldwyni (stout-legged wren)," making use of the scientific name from the 2016 study. The 2016 paper didn't sample ancient DNA from the North Island population but recognizes Xenicus jagmi as a separate species anyways. The 2023 paper doesn't mention the existence of Xenicus jagmi as a separate species, but also falls short of explicitly synonymizing it with Xenicus yaldwyni (it simply isn't mentioned).

For now, I recommend:

- Merging Pachyplichas into Xenicus

- Moving North Island stout-legged wren and South Island stout-legged wren to Stout-legged wren (treating two recently extinct species in a single stub, similar to New Zealand goose and adzebills).

- Treating Xenicus jagmi and Xenicus yaldwyni as separate species (as in the 2016 study) until reliable sources explicitly say otherwise.

- Clean-up New Zealand wren to reflect the revised taxonomy Columbianmammoth (talk) 18:57, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Comment: The authoritative Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand (5th edition, 2022) recognizes two species: the North Island stout-legged wren (Xenicus jagmi) and South Island stout-legged wren (Xenicus yaldwyni). Columbianmammoth (talk) 20:11, 4 November 2023 (UTC)