Gallirallus epulare
| Gallirallus epulare | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Gallirallus epulare | ||||||||||||
| Kirchman & Steadman , 2007 |
Gallirallus epulare is a flightless rail from the island of Nuku Hiva, which belongs to the Marquesas Islands in the Southeast Pacific,known only from bone finds . The most notable feature of the species is the tiny wing bones in relation to the leg bones. While the leg bonesare very similar tothose of a small female guamralle ( Gallirallus owstoni ), the wing bones are much smaller than those of the guamralle and aremuch more similar tothose of the wake rail ( Gallirallus wakensis ) and Mangaia rail ( Gallirallus ripleyi ).
The type epithet epulare is derived from the Latin " epularis ", which means "belonging to a banquet". It alludes to the fact that the bones were found in a site whose findings were made up of kitchen waste from the Prehistoric Polynesians.
source
- Jeremy J. Kirchman and David W. Steadman: New Species of Extinct Rails (Aves: Rallidae) from Archaeological Sites in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. Pacific Science, Volume 61, Issue 1 (January 2007) doi : 10.1353 / psc.2007.0008