Megapodius sp. nov. ‘Raoul Island’

Raoul Island scrubfowl

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Conservation Status

A hypothetical species

Last record: 1876 (Cheeseman, 1891:220)

A hypothetical species based upon a single account (Cheeseman, 1891). Given the repeated volcanic activity on the island, and the fact that a relatively small eruption is thought to have driven the population extinct, compared to previous ones in the last 5,000 years, it is highly unlikely to have been an endemic taxon (Holdaway et al. 2001:131-132).

Distribution

Raoul Island (=Sunday Island), Kermadec Islands, New Zealand

Biology & Ecology

Hypodigm

Media

Above: Megapode. Megapodius sp. From the series: Extinct Birds of New Zealand., 2004, Masterton, by Paul Martinson. Purchased 2006. © Te Papa. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (2006-0010-1/39)

References

Cheeseman, T. F. (1891). On the birds of the Kermadec Islands. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 23: 216-226.

Holdaway, Richard N., Worthy, Trevor H. and Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2001). A working list of breeding bird species of the New Zealand region at first human contact. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 28: 119-187.

http://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/6353/megapodius-sp-raoul-island-scrubfowl

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