Hypotaenidia

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Hypotaenidia
Buff-banded Rail LEI Jan08.jpg
Buff-banded rail, Hypotaenidia philippensis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Hypotaenidia
Reichenbach, 1853
Type species
Rallus pectoralis [1]
Reichenbach, 1853
Species

8 living, and see text

Synonyms
  • Eulabeornis
  • Nesoclopeus
  • Stictolimnas (tentatively included here)

and see text

Hypotaenidia is a genus of birds in the family Rallidae. The genus is considered separate by the IOC and IUCN, while The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World / eBird consider the species to be part of Gallirallus . Since the mid-19th century, when these rather terrestrial birds were recognized to form a genus distinct from the decidedly aquatic Rallus , the validity of Hypotaenidia has been disputed.

Contents

Only in the 2010s has this question be resolved to some degree of satisfaction. While the present genus does indeed belong to the Gallirallus group in tribe Rallini of subfamily Rallinae, it stands apart from the numerous more basal lineages therein, and constitutes a well-distinct clade of smallish to mid-sized species distributed from Sahul far into the Pacific – across a range of at least 9,000 by 8,000 km (almost 6,000 by 5,000 miles). Like their larger more ancestral relatives, they readily evolve into flightless island endemics in the absence of terrestrial predators; however, their smaller bulk makes it easier for them to get airborne, and more prone to be swept away by strong winds. Consequently, they are (together with the Zapornia crakes) suspected to make up much of the prehistoric diversity of flightless rails of the oceanic islands of the Pacific. [2] [3]

Hypotaenidia rails are typically a brownish hue on the upperside; this can range from almost beige to blackish in lightness and generally tends toward reddish hues, and many species have light spots or stripes on the remiges or the entire wings; often, conspicuous light stripes run above and/or below the eyes. The underside is barred black-and-white in almost all members of this genus; unlike in the Zapornia crakes (which are also smaller on average, but with some overlap, and generally similar in coloration) this barring is not restricted to the area between legs and tail, but extends across the entire belly up to the neck. A few species are so cryptic that they appear almost uniformly medium to blackish-brown at a distance. The eyes are red to chestnut, and the bill and legs are either more or less bright red to yellowish, or blackish, usually in line with the overall darkness of the plumage. [4]

Species

Genus Hypotaenidia, as circumscribed after the split-up of Gallirallus, contains the following species: [5]

Extant

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Gallirallus okinawae - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC07075.JPG Okinawa rail Hypotaenidia okinawaeOkinawa, Japan
Gallirallus torquatus (cropped).JPG Barred rail Hypotaenidia torquatathe Philippines, Sulawesi (Indonesia) and Salawati (western New Guinea)
Buff banded rail.jpg Buff-banded rail Hypotaenidia philippensisAustralasia and the southwestern Pacific region, including the Philippines, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand
GuamRail02.jpg Guam rail Hypotaenidia owstoniGuam
RallusInsignisSmit (cropped).jpg Pink-legged rail Hypotaenidia insignisNew Britain
Roviana rail Hypotaenidia rovianaeWestern Province (the Solomon Islands)
EulabeornisWoodfordiKeulemans.jpg Woodford's rail Hypotaenidia woodfordithe Solomon Islands
Lord Howe Woodhen 3.jpg Lord Howe woodhen Hypotaenidia sylvestrisLord Howe Island
"Sharpe's rail" may be a melanistic Buff-banded rail Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.AVES.87485 - Gallirallus sharpei (Buttikofer, 1893) - Sharpe's Rail - specimen - lateral view.jpeg
"Sharpe's rail" may be a melanistic Buff-banded rail

"Sharpe's rail" (traditionally Gallirallus sharpei) is the name given to a singular and enigmatic specimen, Naturalis Biodiversity Center RMNH 87485. Probably collected around 1860, the specimen seems to have arrived at the museum without any accompanying data. It has been suggested to be an aberrant individual of H. philippensis which it certainly resembles much in size, shape, and some plumage details; unpublished DNA data also indicates it belongs to this species. Consequently, it would belong in Hypotaenidia if Gallirallus is split.

Extinct

Several rail species that have gone extinct in fairly recent times and which were traditionally placed in Gallirallus are better assigned to Hypotaenidia:

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Nesoclopeus.poecilopterus.ofgh.jpg †Bar-winged rail Hypotaenidia poecilopteraFiji (Viti Levu)
CabalusDieffenbachiiKeulemans.jpg †Dieffenbach's rail Hypotaenidia dieffenbachiithe Chatham Islands
Gallirallus.pacificus.jpg †Tahiti rail Hypotaenidia pacificaTahiti
Gallirallus wakensis (cropped).jpg †Wake Island rail Hypotaenidia wakensisWake Island
The aberrant Chatham rail may also belong in Hypotaenidia Cabalus modestus (AM LB4145-4) (cropped).jpg
The aberrant Chatham rail may also belong in Hypotaenidia

The Chatham rail (Cabalus modestus) is another species that was usually included in Gallirallus in the genus' loose circumscription, and often considered a close relative of H. dieffenbachii with which it shared its island home. However, these two species are far less closely related than presumed, leading to reestablishment of the genus Cabalus when Gallirallus was split up. Even so, the Chatham rail is very closely related to the Hypotaenidia clade, and analyses are hampered by the lack of data from the extinct and little-known species. Some datasets do resolve the Chatham rail as member of Hypotaenidia, and it may eventually be moved here. [2] [3] [6] [7]

Also, many Pacific rails died out before they could be studied alive by scientists, and are not even attested by skin specimens, but only from fragmentary evidence such as subfossil bones or brief reports in travellers' accounts. They have been traditionally placed in Gallirallus, but most if not all would seem to belong elsewhere, and at least in the case of Polynesian species almost certainly in Hypotaenidia: [8]

Melanesian species

This unidentified "ground bird" found on Norfolk Island around 1800 AD resembles Hypotaenidia species in shape and pattern Gallirallus.sp.norfolk.awda.jpg
This unidentified "ground bird" found on Norfolk Island around 1800 AD resembles Hypotaenidia species in shape and pattern

Micronesian species

Polynesian species

In addition, the Small Oʻahu "crake" ( "Porzana" ziegleri ) is anatomically similar to Hypotaenidia and could have been be a Zapornis -sized species of the present genus, while the Snipe rail (Capellirallus karamu) of New Zealand might be closely enough related to the Chatham rail to be included in its genus, i.e. Hypotaenidia if Cabalus is considered invalid. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail (bird)</span> Family of birds

Rails are a large, cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized terrestrial and/or semi-amphibious birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity in its forms, and includes such ubiquitous species as the crakes, coots, and gallinule; other rail species are extremely rare or endangered. Many are associated with wetland habitats, some being semi-aquatic like waterfowl, but many more are wading birds or shorebirds. The ideal rail habitats are marsh areas, including rice paddies, and flooded fields or open forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation for nesting. The rail family is found in every terrestrial habitat with the exception of dry desert, polar or freezing regions, and alpine areas. Members of Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. Numerous unique island species are known.

<i>Gallirallus</i> Genus of birds

Gallirallus is a genus of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. The genus is characterised by an ability to colonise relatively small and isolated islands and thereafter to evolve flightless forms, many of which became extinct following Polynesian settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Caledonian rail</span> Species of bird

The New Caledonian rail is a large and drab flightless rail endemic to the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific. It is Critically Endangered, may have gone extinct many decades ago already, and if it still exists it is one of the least-known living bird species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahiti rail</span> Extinct species of bird from Tahiti

The Tahiti rail, Tahitian red-billed rail, or Pacific red-billed rail is an extinct species of rail that lived on Tahiti. It was first recorded during James Cook's second voyage around the world (1772–1775), on which it was illustrated by Georg Forster and described by Johann Reinhold Forster. No specimens have been preserved. As well as the documentation by the Forsters, there have been claims that the bird also existed on the nearby island of Mehetia. The Tahiti rail appears to have been closely related to, and perhaps derived from, the buff-banded rail, and has also been historically confused with the Tongan subspecies of that bird.

<i>Porzana</i> Genus of birds

Porzana is a genus of birds in the crake and rail family, Rallidae. Its scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake is the type species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatham rail</span> Extinct species of bird

The Chatham rail is an extinct flightless species of bird in the family Rallidae. It was endemic to Chatham, Mangere and Pitt Islands, in the Chatham archipelago of New Zealand. The Chatham rail was first discovered on Mangere in 1871, and 26 specimens collected there are known from museum collections. Its Māori name was "mātirakahu".

<i>Cabalus</i> Genus of birds

Cabalus is a disputed Oceanian genus of birds in the family Rallidae. Both species placed in the genus here were previously considered part of the genus Gallirallus, one was alternatively placed in Tricholimnas alone or together with the Lord Howe woodhen, and the other was initially included in Rallus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dieffenbach's rail</span> Extinct species of bird

Dieffenbach's rail, known in the Moriori language as meriki or mehoriki, is an extinct flightless species of bird from the family Rallidae. It was endemic to the Chatham Islands.

The Huahine rail was a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It was a medium-sized Gallirallus rail endemic to Huahine in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. It is known only from subfossil remains found at the Fa'ahia archaeological site on the island. Fa'ahia is an early Polynesian occupation site with radiocarbon dates ranging from 700 CE to 1200 CE. The rail is only one of a suite of birds found at the site which became extinct either locally or globally following human occupation of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fa'ahia</span>

Fa'ahia is an early Polynesian occupation site in the north-east of the island of Huahine, in the Society Islands, French Polynesia. With the neighbouring Vaito'otia site, it dates to between 700 CE and 1200 CE. Because much of the site is waterlogged, artefacts made of organic materials have been well preserved, including wooden patu hand clubs, canoe parts and adze handles.

The Tubuai rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.

The Tahuata rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.

The Ua Huka rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.

The Nuku Hiva rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.

The Niue rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.

The Mangaia rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the rail family, Rallidae.

The Mangaia crake is an extinct species of flightless bird in the rail family, Rallidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ʻEua rail</span> Species of bird

The ʻEua rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family. It was described in 2005 from subfossil bones found on the island of ʻEua, in the Kingdom of Tonga of West Polynesia.

<i>Zapornia</i> Genus of birds

Zapornia is a genus of birds in the rail family Rallidae. It was included in Porzana for much of the late 20th century. These smallish to tiny rails are found across most of the world, but are entirely absent from the Americas except as wind-blown stray birds. A number of species, and probably an even larger number of prehistorically extinct ones, are known only from small Pacific islands; several of these lost the ability to fly in the absence of terrestrial predators. They are somewhat less aquatic than Porzana proper, inhabiting the edges of wetlands, reedbelts, but also drier grass- and shrubland and in some cases open forest.

References

  1. ↑ "Rallidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  2. 1 2 Kirchman, Jeremy J. (2012): Speciation of flightless rails on islands: A DNA-based phylogeny of the typical rails of the Pacific. Auk 129(1):s 56–69. doi : 10.1525/auk.2011.11096 PDF fulltext
  3. 1 2 Garcia-R, Juan C. et al. (2014): Deep global evolutionary radiation in birds: Diversification and trait evolution in the cosmopolitan bird family Rallidae. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 81: 96–108. doi : 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.09.008 PDF fulltext
  4. ↑ Taylor, P. Barry & van Perlo, Ber (1998): Rails: a guide to the rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots of the world (Helm Identification Guides). Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN   0-300-07758-0.
  5. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Flufftails, finfoots, rails, trumpeters, cranes, limpkin". World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 Garcia-R, Juan C. & Matzke, Nicholas J. (2021): Trait-dependent dispersal in rails (Aves: Rallidae): Historical biogeography of a cosmopolitan bird clade. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 159: 107106. doi : 10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107106 PDF preprint
  7. ↑ Kirchman, Jeremy J. et al. (2021): Phylogeny based on ultra-conserved elements clarifies the evolution of rails and allies (Ralloidea) and is the basis for a revised classification. Ornithology 138(4): 1–21. doi : 10.1093/ornithology/ukab042 PDF fulltext
  8. 1 2 Salvador, Rodrigo B.; Anderson, Atholl; Tennyson, Alan J.D. (2021). "An Extinct New Rail (Gallirallus, Aves: Rallidae) Species from Rapa Island, French Polynesia". Taxonomy. 1 (4): 448–457. doi: 10.3390/taxonomy1040032 .
  9. 1 2 3 Kirchman, Jeremy J.; Steadman, David. (2007). "New species of extinct rails (Aves: Rallidae) from archaeological sites in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia". Pacific Science. 61 (1): 145–163. doi:10.1353/psc.2007.0008. hdl: 10125/22605 . S2CID   86793953. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014.(subscription required)
  10. ↑ "Gallirallus huiatua; holotype". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  11. ↑ Steadman, David W.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Anderson, Atholl; Walter, Richard. (1 June 2000). "New species and records of birds from prehistoric sites on Niue, southwest Pacific". Wilson Bulletin. 112 (2): 165–186. doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0165:NSAROB]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   86588636. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007.(subscription required)
  12. ↑ Steadman, D. W. (1986). "Two new species of rails (Aves: Rallidae) from Mangaia, Southern Cook Islands". Pacific Science. 40 (1): 27–43.
  13. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H.; Bollt, Robert. (1 January 2011). "Prehistoric birds and bats from the Atiahara site, Tubuai, Austral Islands, East Polynesia". Pacific Science. 65 (1): 69–86. doi:10.2984/65.1.069. hdl: 10125/23211 . S2CID   54836563. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014.(subscription required)
  14. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H.; Burley, David V. (2020). "Prehistoric avifaunas from the Kingdom of Tonga". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 189 (3): 998–1045. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz110.
  15. ↑ A similar bird was found to live on nearby Vava‘u in 1793. Given that G. vekamatolu was flightless, this may just as well represent a related species.
  16. ↑ Kirchman, J.J.; Steadman, D. W. (2005). "Rails (Aves: Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric sites in the Kingdom of Tonga, including description of a new species". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118 (2): 465–477. doi:10.2988/0006-324x(2005)118[465:rargfp]2.0.co;2. S2CID   86755841.
  17. ↑ "State Library of New South Wales" . Retrieved 6 January 2023.


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