Thambetochen chauliodous Olson & Wetmore, 1976:252
Maui Nui moa-nalo
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Thambetochen chaliodous Olson & Wetmore, 1976:252 [orth. error used by Harmon et al., 2026]
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: 4340 ± 610yBP (Harmon et al., 2026)
Distribution & Habitat
Maui & Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Olson, Storrs L. and Wetmore, Alexander. (1976). Preliminary diagnoses of two extraordinary new genera of birds from Pleistocene deposits in the Hawaiian Islands. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washignton 89(18): 247-258.
Other references:
Faurby, Søren, Matthews, Tom J., Triantis, Kostas A. and Sayol, Ferran. (2026). Quantifying the unrecorded loss of avian phylogenetic diversity. Ecography 2026: e08267. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecog.08267
Harmon, Kristen C., Price, Melissa R. and Winter, Kawika B. (2026). The “regime shift extinctions” hypothesis and mass
extinction of waterbirds in Hawaiʻi. Ecosphere 17: e70445. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70445
Hume, Julian Pender and Walters, Michael. (2012). Extinct Birds. London: T & AD Poyser. 544 pp.
Iwaniuk, Andrew N. et al. (2004). A comparative test of the correlated evolution of flightlessness and relative brain size in birds. J. Zool, Land. 263: 317-327.
James, Helen F. and Burney, David A. (1997). The Diet and Ecology of Hawaii's Extinct Flightless Waterfowl: Evidence from Coprolites. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 62(2): 279-297.
James, H. F., T. Stafford, D. Steadman, S. Olson, P. Martin, A. Jull, and P. McCoy. (1987). Radiocarbon Dates on Bones of Extinct Birds from Hawaii. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 84: 2350-2354.
Kolb, M. J. (1994). Ritual activity and chieK y economy at an upland religious site on Maui, Hawai’i. Journal of Field Archaeology 21, 417-436.
Matthews, Thomas J., Triantis, Kostas A., Wayman, Joseph P., Martin, Thomas E., Hume, Julian P., Cardoso, Pedro, Faurby, Søren, Mendenhall, Chase D., Dufour, Paul, Rigal, François, Cooke, Rob, Whittaker, Robert J., Pigot, Alex L., Thébaud, Christophe, Jørgensen, Maria Wagner, Benavides, Eva, Soares, Filipa C., Ulrich, Werner, Kubota, Yasuhiro, Sadler, Jon P., Tobias, Joseph A. and Sayol, Ferran. (2024). The global loss of avian functional and phylogenetic diversity from anthropogenic extinctions. Science 386(6717): 55-60. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk7898 [Supplementary Materials; Dryad dataset; Zenodo codeset]
Matthews, Thomas J., Wayman, Joseph P., Cardoso, Pedro, Sayol, Ferran, Hume, Julian P., Ulrich, Werner, Tobias, Joseph A., Soares, Filipa C., Thébaud, Christophe, Martin, Thomas E. and Triantis, Kostas A. (2022). Threatened and extinct island endemic birds of the world: Distribution, threats and functional diversity. Journal of Biogeography 49(11): 1920-1940. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14474 [Appendix S1 (.docx); Appendix S2 (.pdf)]
Olson, Storrs L. and James, Helen F. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part I. Non-Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs, No. 45: 1-88.
Sayol, Ferran, Steinbauer, Manuel J., Blackburn, Tim M., Antonelli, Alexandre and Faurby, Søren. (2020). Anthropogenic extinctions conceal widespread evolution of flightlessness in birds. Science Advances 6(49): eabb6095. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abb6095 [Supplementary Material (Data File S1)]
Sorenson, Michael D. et al. (1999). Relationships of the extinct moa-nalos, flightless Hawaiian waterfowl, based on ancient DNA. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 266: 2187-2193.
Stearns, Harold T. (1973). Geologic setting of the fossil goose bones found on Molokai Island, Hawaii. Occasional Papers, Bernice P. Bishop Museum 24(10): 155-163.
Turvey, Samuel T. (2009). In the shadow of the megafauna: prehistoric mammal and bird extinctions across the Holocene, pp. 17-39. In: Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). Holocene Extinctions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tyrberg, Tommy. (2009). Holocene avian extinctions, pp. 63-106. In: Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). Holocene Extinctions. Oxford, UK & New York, USA: Oxford University Press. xii + 352 pp.
Watanabe, Junya. (2017). Quantitative discrimination of flightlessness in fossil Anatidae from skeletal proportions. The Auk 134(3): 672-695.
Young, H. Glyn, Tonge, Simon J. and Hume, Julian Pender. (1996). Review of Holocene wildfowl extinctions. Wildfowl 47: 167-181.
Ziegler, A. C. (1972). Ancient Molokai Goose Bones Stir World of Biology. Honolulu: Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, p. A 6-7, Feb. 27 (Report of interview with Dr. Ziegler by Bruce Benson).