Fijian snipe
| Fijian snipe | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Coenocorypha miratropica | ||||||||||
| Worthy , 2003 |
The Fijian snipe ( Coenocorypha miratropica ) is an extinct species of snipe from the genus Coenocorypha . It is only known from fossil material, which is very likely from the Holocene. The species epitheta mirabilis ("surprise") and tropicos ("tropical") derive from the surprising fact that a genus that is normally only found in high southern latitudes was found on a tropical island.
The holotype, a complete left humerus , was unearthed on November 18, 1999 in the Vatuma Cave about 12 km south of Nadi on Viti Levu . The bone is not mineralized and is creamy white. It has a length of 40.2 mm. The para types include the following materials: a distal left and distal two right humerus, two distal right Ellen , three left Carpometacarpi , a left shoulder blade , a distal right and proximal right tarsometatarsus , a proximal left radius and two fragments of a beak with incisive bone . The Fijian snipe was larger than the Coeonocorypha species from New Zealand and an as yet undescribed species from Norfolk Island . A comparison with an equally undescribed species from New Caledonia is not possible, as the coracoid is missing in the humerus of this species .
The exact time of extinction of the Fijian snipe is unknown. It is one of nine bird species formerly found on the Fiji Islands, but now extinct, that disappeared during early colonization through excessive hunting, habitat loss, and stalking by pigs, dogs, and the Pacific rat .
literature
- Trevor H. Worthy : A new extinct species of snipe Coenocorypha from Vitilevu, Fiji. In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 2003 123 (2), pp. 90-103.
- Michael Walters & Julian Pender Hume: Extinct Birds. Poiser Monographes (A&C Black), 2012. ISBN 978-1-4081-5725-1 . P. 127.