CRAVERI URIETTA
Synthliboramphus craveri
In the showcase dealing with Federico Craveri’s exploration journeys in Mexico we can see two specimens of Craveri Urietta (Synthliboramphus craveri). This small marine bird nests in galleries dug up in sandy spots in the islands surrounding the peninsula of South California. Until then this species was virtually unknown, it was first described by Federico Craveri in his journey diary during his exploration of the Sea of Cortez and along the Pacific Coast in search for the guano islands. In 1865 the famous ornithologist Tommaso Salvadori published the description of some still unknown bird species in the Acts of the Italian Society of Natural Sciences in Milan; these were based on specimens in the Collections of the Museum of the Turin University. Among others, the new species of Alcidae stood out, Salvadori dedicated t it o Federico and Ettore “… remembering the generosity of the Craveri brothers who have enriched the museum in Turin with many bird species from Mexico and California..”. Both specimens exposed here and the one kept at the Regional Museum of Natural History in Turin which is used for the description of the original species (holotype), were caught on June 16th, 1857, by Federico Craveri on the island of Natividad along the Pacific Coast of Baja California.
