The Genovesa ground finch (Geospiza acutirostris) is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It was considered a subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) endemic to Genovesa Island.Grant, Peter R.; Grant, B. Rosemary & Petren, Kenneth (2000). The allopatric phase of speciation: the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) on the Galápagos islands. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 69(3): 287–317. Rothschild, W. and E. Hartert. (1899). A Review of the Ornithology of the Galapagos Islands. With Notes on the Webster-Harris Expedition. Novitates Zoologicae Vol. VI, No. 2, pp. 85-205, 2 plates. The International Ornithologists' Union has split the species. Other taxonomic authorities still consider it conspecific.
In the whole-genome phylogeny of Lamichhaney et al. (2017), G. acutirostris is shown to be very far from G. difficilis. In fact, G. difficilis does not fall in the same part of the tree as other Geospiza.
References