Aidemedia
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| James & Olson , 1991 |
Aidemedia is an extinct songbird genus from the subfamily of clothes birds . It is known only from subfossil remains that were unearthed in 1977 by archaeologist Aki Sinoto and other scientists at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum .
Systematics
There are three types:
- Aidemedia lutetiae from the islands of Maui and Molokaʻi
- Aidemedia chascax from the island of O'ahu
- Aidemedia zanclops from the island of Oahu
etymology
The genus is named after Joan Aidem, an amateur palaeontologist from the island of Moloka'i, who discovered numerous bones from several extinct bird species on the Hawaiian islands in the 1970s . The spelling results in a palindrome .
features
The representatives of the genus Aidemedia were characterized by strong, straight, downwardly curved, very elongated beaks with an extremely long extension behind the joint (processus retroarticularis) of the lower jaw . Within the subfamily of the honeysuckle birds, the combination of an elongated beak with a moderately to well developed process behind the temporomandibular joint occurs also in the genera Hemignathus , Loxops , Himatione , Palmeria , Vestiaria and Drepanis . The Aidemedia species differed from these genera by a beak that was narrower towards the rear and by the upper jaw, which was almost equally wide instead of widened towards the rear. The processes behind the joint of the lower jaw were longer and stronger than in all of the aforementioned taxa with the exception of the hermit green-clad bird ( Hemignathus sagittirostris ). Aidemedia also differed from the genus Hemignathus in that it had a much less weakened upper jaw with a shallower central furrow. It also differed from the genera Himatione , Palmeria , Vestiaria and Drepanis in the stronger structure of the beak, the relatively large joint end of the lower jaw, the fairly straight instead of abruptly curved anterior part of the lower jaw branch and the less hollowed lower surface of the upper jaw. Aidemedia also differed from the genus Loxops in that the front edge of the nostril was not surrounded by a clear border. In general, the beak morphology most closely resembled that of the hermit green-clad bird. However, the species of the genus Aidemedia had longer and thinner beaks.
Eating behavior
Pronounced processes behind the joint of the lower jaw exist in birds, which forcefully open their beaks when they ingest food. This behavior comes in a variety of passerines before, including in the starlings and the starlings . They usually stick their beak into a variety of fabrics, including flowers, fruits, grass, bark, and soil, and use strong muscle movements to spread them apart. Due to the similar beak morphology, the species of the genus Aidemedia probably had a similar feeding strategy.
die out
All representatives of this genus disappeared during the early colonization of Hawaii by the Polynesians . The main causes of the extinction were believed to have been habitat destruction and the stalking of the introduced Pacific rat ( Rattus exulans ).
literature
- Olson, Storrs L .; James, Helen F. (1991): Descriptions of Thirty-Two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes . Ornithological Monographs 46: p. 66-73. PDF online .
- Harold Douglas Pratt : The Hawaiian Honeycreepers . Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-854653-X . Pp. 225-226
- Hume, Julian P., Michael P. Walters: Extinct Birds . 1st edition. T & AD Poyser, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-4081-5725-1 , Fringillidae, pp. 300-301.