Nubotis Collar & Kirwan, 2023 (new genus)
(An individual of Nubotis nuba, photographed by Michel Watelet, from the Macaulay Library)
Meaning of name: Nubotis = Nubian bustard [in Greek]
Species included: N. nuba (Nubian bustard, type species, previously in Neotis)
Age: Holocene (Meghalayan), extant
Where found: Arid habitats on desert fringes in the Sahel region of Northern Africa
Notes: Nubotis nuba is a bustard, a group of often large, ground-dwelling birds from Afro-Eurasia and Australasia. Despite their size, bustards are capable (if reluctant) fliers and tend to inhabit remote regions, which can make them very difficult to study.
The Nubian bustard has generally been classified in the genus Neotis alongside several other African bustard species. However, a genetic analysis published in 2002 found that the other members of Neotis may be more closely related to the genus Ardeotis than to the Nubian bustard. Nonetheless, ornithologists have largely avoided making major recent revisions to bustard classification, probably because this study was based on a limited amount of genetic data.
The authors of a new paper point out additional characteristics that make the Nubian bustard distinctive, drawing especially from new observations of the male's display behavior. Unlike all other bustards, this species has a deeply forked tail that is held vertically while displaying. It also differs from other Neotis species in that it holds its neck retracted during display instead of inflating it, and having little sexual dimorphism in plumage coloration. The authors therefore consider the combined evidence from anatomy, behavior, and genetics sufficient to justify classifying the Nubian bustard in a new unique genus, though further research is no doubt required to clarify the precise phylogenetic relationships among these birds.
Reference: Collar, N.J. and G.M. Kirwan. 2023. The generic position of the Nubian Bustard Neotis nuba (Cretzschmar, 1826) (Aves: Otididae). Zootaxa 5315: 122–130. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5315.2.2