Systematics, Biogeography, and Conservation of Jerdon's Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus

Abstract

A cladistic analysis of Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) and eight allied taxa supports the validity of the Afro-Asian genus Rhinoptilus and indicates that the sister-species of the Indian relict bitorquatus is the Three-banded Courser (Rhinoptilus cinctus) of eastern Africa.
The present distribution of these two sister forms is evidence for a former biotic link between peninsular India and the savanna habitats of eastern Africa. This distributional trend is corroborated by an additional list of forty-three species or sister-species pairs that exhibit this Afro-Indian pattern. We believe that these data support the notion that there once existed an Afro-Indian fauna that inhabited what was probably a continuous belt of savanna from southern Africa to southern India.
The recovery plan for the critically-endangered Jerdon's Courser should include attempts to develop a captive population of R. cinctus, which could then be used to rear eggs taken from wild populations of bitorquatus. Captive breeding, in concert with local education and efforts to expand protected areas of prime habitat, offers the most promising integrated strategy for the species' recovery.