Mangaia rail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Edward (talk | contribs) at 05:17, 27 May 2016 (link flightless bird using Find link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mangaia rail
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
G. ripleyi
Binomial name
Gallirallus ripleyi

The Mangaia rail (Gallirallus ripleyi) is an extinct species of flightless bird in the rail family, Rallidae.

History

The rail was described in 1986 from subfossil bones of late Holocene age found in caves on the island of Mangaia, in the southern Cook Islands of West Polynesia. The cause of its extinction is ascribed to a combination of predation and habitat alteration following human settlement of the island and the introduction of exotic mammals.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Steadman, D. W. (1986). "Two new species of rails (Aves: Rallidae) from Mangaia, Southern Cook Islands". Pacific Science. 40 (1): 27–43.