| Xenicus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A South Island wren. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Acanthisittidae |
| Genus: | Xenicus G.R. Gray, 1855 |
| Type species | |
| Motacilla longipes [1] Gmelin, 1789 | |
| Synonyms | |
Pachyplichas (Millener, 1988) | |
Xenicus is a genus of birds in the family Acanthisittidae . It contains New Zealand wrens.
Lyall's wren was classified as Xenicus lyalli but is quite divergent, so it is placed in its own genus, Traversia.
The stout-legged wrens formed a species pair. They had reduced wings and robust legs indicating that they were adapted to a terrestrial existence and were either flightless or nearly so. [2] Genetic evidence has indicated that the former genus Pachyplichas is nested within Xenicus, and stout legged wrens must have evolved from a gracile legged ancestor. A cladogram is given below. [3]
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Moa are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand. During the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, there were nine species. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kilograms (510 lb) while the smallest, the bush moa, was around the size of a turkey. Estimates of the moa population when Polynesians settled New Zealand circa 1300 vary between 58,000 and approximately 2.5 million.
Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly known simply as the "wren", as it is the originator of the name. The name wren has been applied to other, unrelated birds, particularly the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and the Australian wrens (Maluridae).
The New Zealand wrens are a family (Acanthisittidae) of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by seven Holocene species in four or five genera, although only two species in two genera survive today. They are understood to form a distinct lineage within the passerines, but authorities differ on their assignment to the oscines or suboscines. More recent studies suggest that they form a third, most ancient, suborder Acanthisitti and have no living close relatives at all. They are called "wrens" due to similarities in appearance and behaviour to the true wrens (Troglodytidae) but are not members of that family.
The bushwren, also known as the mātuhituhi in the Māori language, was a very small and almost flightless bird that was endemic to New Zealand. It had three subspecies on each of the major islands of New Zealand, the North Island, South Island, and Stewart Island / Rakiura and nearby smaller islands. The species disappeared gradually after the introduction of invasive mammalian predators, last being seen on the North Island in 1955 and the South Island in 1968. Attempts were made to save the remaining population on small islands off Stewart Island, but they ultimately failed with the death of the last remaining known birds in 1972.
Flightless birds have, through evolution, lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well-known ratites and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail. The largest flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird in general, is the common ostrich.
Lyall's wren or the Stephens Island wren was a small, flightless passerine belonging to the family Acanthisittidae, the New Zealand wrens. Now extinct, it was once found throughout New Zealand, but when it came to the attention of scientists in 1894, its last refuge was Stephens Island in Cook Strait. Often claimed to be a species driven extinct by a single creature, the wren in fact fell victim to the island's numerous feral cats. The wren was described almost simultaneously by both Walter Rothschild and Walter Buller. It became extinct shortly thereafter.
The sapayoa or broad-billed sapayoa is a suboscine passerine bird found Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
The South Island piopio also known as the New Zealand thrush, was a passerine bird of the family Oriolidae.
The rifleman is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is endemic to New Zealand. It belongs to the family Acanthisittidae, also known as the New Zealand wrens, of which it is one of only two surviving species. The rifleman resembles a wren in form, but is not related to the family of true wrens, Troglodytidae, nor the fairy-wrens of Australia.
The New Zealand rock wren is a small New Zealand wren endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Its Māori names include pīwauwau, mātuitui, and tuke. Outside New Zealand it is sometimes known as the rockwren to distinguish it from the unrelated rock wren of North America.
The long-billed wren is an extinct species of New Zealand wren formerly endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It was the only species in the genus Dendroscansor. It shares the name "long-billed wren" with the Brazilian bird Cantorchilus longirostris.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1988.
The long-legged bunting is an extinct flightless species of bunting. It was distinguishable by its long legs and short wings, and it inhabited Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It is one of the few flightless passerines known to science, all of which are now extinct.
The Chatham kākā or Chatham Island kākā is an extinct parrot species previously found on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. The first individuals were thought to belong to the New Zealand kākā, but detailed examination of the subfossil bones showed that they actually belong to a separate endemic species. The species became extinct within the first 150 years of the arrival of the Polynesians around 1500, long before any European settlers. No skins or descriptions are available.
The broad-billed moa, stout-legged moa or coastal moa is an extinct species of moa that was endemic to New Zealand.
Victoria Forest Park, is situated on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. At 2,069 square kilometres (799 sq mi) it is New Zealand's largest forest park. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
The Murchison Mountains are a group of mountains in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. It is the location where the South Island takahē, a type of bird presumed extinct, was rediscovered in 1948. The highest mountain is Mount Lyall at 1,892 metres (6,207 ft).
Stout-legged wren is a common name referring to two species of extinct New Zealand wrens: the North Island stout-legged wren or Grant-Mackie's wren, and the South Island stout-legged wren or Yaldwyn's wren. These small birds were endemic to New Zealand.
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