Catalogue of Cuban fossil and subfossil birds Author Suárez, William text Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 2022 2022-03-11 142 1 247 248 journal article 10.25226/bboc.v142i1.2022.a3 2513-9894 4C9216EC-E822-4CC7-A163-6E96CFB3078F 5. † Gallinago kakuki Steadman & Takano, 2016 West Indian Snipe (Becasina Isleña) Gallinago kakuki Steadman & Takano, 2016 , Zootaxa 4109: 348. Capella delicata : Wetmore 1937: 435 [ Bahamas ]. Capella sp. : Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 31 [ Bahamas ]. Capella sp. : Morgan 1994: 480 [ Cayman Islands ; see also Morgan 1977a ,b]. Capella sp. : Suárez 2004b: 155 [ Cuba ]. History .— October 1937 : three specimens from ‘Great Exuma’ (= Little Exuma fide Hecht 1955) identified as ‘ Capella delicata (Ord.) ’, but said to probably ‘represent an extinct species’ of large size ( Wetmore 1937: 435 ). 25 March 1977 : fossils from Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands , identified as a new, extinct large species of Capella ( Morgan 1977a: 68–73 , b: 21; see Morgan 1994: 480–481 ). 5 August 1982 : summary of the fossil record of this large snipe (as ‘ Capella sp. ’) in the West Indies, with comparisons of known material, including new specimens identified from Banana Hole, New Providence, Bahamas ( Olson & Hilgartner 1982: 31–33 ). April 2004 : recorded from Cuba as ‘ Capella sp. ’ on basis of four specimens , including one immature humerus which suggests the bird was a year-round resident in the Antillean subregion ( Suárez 2004b: 157 ). 9 May 2016 : original description of G. kakuki published ( Steadman & Takano 2016 ), which species seems to be more similar to Old World Gallinago . Holotype .—Complete right humerus, UF 297382 ( Steadman & Takano 2016: 348 , figs. 3A [anconal], 4A [palmar]). Collected in 1958–60 by J. C. Dickinson et al . at the type locality ( Steadman & Takano 2016: 348 ). Type locality .—Banana Hole, New Providence, Bahamas ( Steadman & Takano 2016: 348 ). Referred material .— Humerus : right, MNHNCu 75.4709 (fig. 1: left [palmar]), OA 3138; left, MNHNCu 75.4711 (immature). Ulna : right, MNHNCu 75.4712 (fig. 1: right [palmar]). Cited material and figures are from Suárez (2004b) . Distribution .—Cave deposits in west and central Cuba (see Appendix). Pinar del Río . Los Palacios: PEA ( Suárez 2004b: 155 [‘ Capella sp. ’]). Sancti Spíritus . Yaguajay: SPH and SPS ( Suárez 2004b: 155–156 [‘ Capella sp. ’]). Direct 14 C dating .—None in Cuba . For dating of associated fauna from PEA (17,406 ± 161 14 C yr BP), see Suárez & Díaz-Franco (2003: 373) . Notes .—Remains of this snipe are sporadically found in Cuban cave deposits containing ancient barn owl pellets ( cf . Tyto furcata and T . noeli ). G. kakuki had a wider distribution in the West Indies that also included the Bahamas and Cayman Islands ( Olson & Hilgartner 1982 , Steadman & Takano 2016 ) where apparently it was a resident, endemic species ( Suárez 2004b , Steadman & Takano 2016 ). Probably the first material to be collected was from Isla de la Juventud (= Isla de Pinos), west Cuba , as Peterson (1917: 359) noted ‘few limb-bones of snipes’ in the remains he studied, but this requires corroboration.