New species is already lost in the wild
A recently published study has confirmed that Pied Myna (widely known as Asian Pied Starling) consists of three species – and that one of these is already extinct in the wild, with illegal trapping meaning Javan Pied Starling has now vanished.
Conservation action for endangered species is sometimes hampered by taxonomic uncertainty, especially in illegally traded animals that are often cross-bred in captivity, so the researchers used a genomic approach to analyse historical DNA from museum samples across Pied Myna’s range.
Comparing genomic profiles from across this distribution, researchers detected three deeply diverged lineages at species level, characterised by a lack of genomic intermediacy – indicating a lack of gene flow (hybridisation) between the taxa – near the areas of contact. This confirms recent decisions by some taxonomic authorities (including BirdLife International) to treat Pied Myna as three separate species.
Unfortunately, this has come too late for the Javan form jalla, which is now widely suspected to be extinct in the wild. The silver lining is that jalla is held widely in captivity, including by conservation organisations, so is not completely lost – although hybridisation between different forms is more prevalent in private collections.
The study recommends that Pied Myna is treated as follows: Indian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra); Thai Pied Starling (Gracupica contra); and the now extinct in the wild Javan Pied Starling (Gracupica jalla).