title: A new species of masked-owl (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae) from Seram, Indonesia.
abstract: We describe a new species of masked-owl from the lower montane forest of Seram, one of the largest islands in the Moluccas of eastern Indonesia, for which we propose the name Tyto almae (Seram Masked-Owl), sp. nov. Molecular (mitochondrial cyt-b) differences show that Tyto sororcula of Buru and Tanimbar is closely related to T novaehollandiae of Australia and New Guinea (-1% uncorrected pairwise distance), and that Tyto almae of Seram differs by -3% (uncorrected pairwise distance) from both of them. These differences are further corroborated by morphology and colouration. Although a photograph from Seram published in 1987 had already established the presence of a Tyto owl on the island, ours represents the first specimen of this species. The bird was mist-netted in wet, mossy lower montane forest at an elevation of 1,350 m. No further observations of the owl were made during four weeks of fieldwork in Seram.
authors.affiliation: Center for Macroecology Evolution and Climate at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. kajonsson@snm.ku.dk
authors.forename: Knud Andreas
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Jønsson
authors.forename: Michael Køie
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.forename: Tri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haryoko
authors.forename: Andrew Hart
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Reeve
authors.forename: Pierre-Henri
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Fabre
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D007214:Indonesia; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity; D020305:Strigiformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology