The Key to Scientific Names
- Raperia
‡ (Columbidae; syn. Columba † Metallic Pigeon C. vitiensis halmaheira) Lt. George Raper (1769-1797) Royal Navy, explorer, artist in South Africa, Australia and the Pacific; "It certainly has no claim to Neozelanic origin, while its nearest living relative seems to be a New Caledonian bird. As noted above, it is impossible to place it in any known genus or species, and I therefore propose RAPERIA, gen. nov. Differs in coloration, the form of the bill and the length of the feet from other Fruit Pigeons. Type, RAPERIA GODMANÆ, sp. nov. Named in remembrance of Geo. Raper, who made the painting and thus saved for posterity a sight of a beautiful bird which was rapidly extinguished on account of its prior lack of enemies" (Mathews 1915); "Raperia Mathews, Austr. Av. Rec., 3, 1915, p. 21, 23. Type, by original designation, Raperia godmanae Mathews = Janthaenas halmaheira Bonaparte." (Peters, 1937, III, p. 57); "27. Columba vitiensis ... Validity of race † godmanae uncertain, as no specimen exists, the description being based on a painting." (del Hoyo and Collar, 2014, HBW Illustrated Checklist, 1, Non-passerines, p. 158).
