Vava'u rail
The Vava'u rail (Hypotaenidia vavauensis) is an extinct species of bird in Rallidae. It was first described in 1793 from an illustration. In 2020 subfossil remains were found on the island of Vuna, in the Vava'u island group of Tonga. [1]
| Vava'u rail Temporal range: Late Pleistocene-Holocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Hypotaenidia |
| Species: | †H. vavauensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Hypotaenidia vavauensis Worthy and Burley, 2020 | |
Description
The Vava'u rail was a flightless bird with legs longer and bulkier than most known species in Hypotaenidia.[1] The bill was blood red becoming more of a pale pink towards the lip. The body had patches of grey and white appearing as a slaty blue. It was likely closely related, and visually similar to the ʻEua rail.[2]
References
- "Prehistoric avifaunas from the Kingdom of Tonga". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- Olson, Storrs L. (2006). "Birds, including extinct species, encountered by the Malaspina Expedition on Vava'u, Tonga, in 1793". Archives of Natural History. Division of Birds, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. 33: 42–52. doi:10.3366/anh.2006.33.1.42. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
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