| Ua Huka rail Temporal range: Late Holocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Gallirallus |
| Species: | †G. gracilitibia |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gallirallus gracilitibia | |
The Ua Huka rail (Gallirallus gracilitibia) is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.
It was described in 2007 from subfossil remains collected in 1965 by anthropologist Yosihiko H. Sinoto and colleagues at the Hane Dune archaeological site, on the island of Ua Huka in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. The site dates to about 1350 yr BP, from the early period of human settlement of the island. [1]
The specific epithet comes from the Latin gracilis (slender) and tibia (shinbone), referring to a diagnostic character of the material from which the species was described. [1]
The Ua Huka rail was a small to medium-sized rail, similar to the buff-banded rail (Hypotaenidia philippensis) but with reduced wings and an extremely thin shaft of the tibiotarsus - perhaps the thinnest among all rail species, volant or flightless. The reasons behind this feature are unclear. [2]
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.
Ua Huka is one of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the northern group of the archipelago, approximately 25 mi (40 km) to the east of Nuku Hiva, at 8°54′S139°33′W.
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.
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.
The conquered lorikeet is a species of parrot that became extinct 700–1300 years ago. It lived in islands of Polynesia. David Steadman and Marie Zarriello wrote its species description in 1987.
The Iphis monarch, or Ua Huka flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and plantations.
The Huahine swamphen was a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It was a small swamphen 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 swamphen 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.
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.
The great ground dove is an extinct species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was found in Mangaia in the southern Cook Islands, and in French Polynesia where subfossil bones between 1000 and 2000 years old have been found in the Marquesas, as well as between 750 and 1250 years old at the Fa'ahia early occupation site on Huahine in the Society Islands.
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 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.
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.
The Marquesas cuckoo-dove, also referred to as the Marquesan cuckoo-dove, is an extinct species of bird in the pigeon family. It was endemic to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. It was described from subfossil bones recovered from the Hane archaeological site on the island of Ua Huka. The cuckoo-dove was a relatively large species, with long legs; its limb proportions suggesting a more terrestrial lifestyle than its congeners. The dove's extinction occurred either upon or shortly after the colonisation of the islands by ancient Polynesians.
Astolfo's rail is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family. It lived in Rapa Iti, one of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia.
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