Molokai long-legged owl
| Molokai long-legged owl | ||||||||||||
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| Grallistrix geleches | ||||||||||||
| Olson & James , 1991 |
The Molokai long-legged owl ( Grallistrix geleches ) is an extinct species of owl that lived on the island of Molokaʻi . It was probably, like other representatives of the genus Grallistrix , a diurnal forest dweller who fed on birds. It became extinct during the first millennium AD when the Polynesians colonized the Hawaiian Islands.
features
The Molokai long-legged owl reached roughly the size of a tawny owl ( Strix aluco ) and, together with the Kauai long-legged owl ( G. auceps ), belonged to the larger species of its genus. It had long legs with extremely strong claws for an owl of this size. As with other members of the genus, the skull was very narrow and long; the wings, however, were rather short. This morphology is possibly due to the adaptation to the wooded habitat and the high proportion of songbirds in the prey. A similar physique is found in bird-hunting forest dwellers such as the also extinct Mascareno Owls ( Mascarenotus ). The skeletal findings suggest that there may have been a sexual dimorphism in this species that is not known from other species in the genus.
Way of life and distribution
Fossil Gewölle of Kauai Langbeineule show that they are small, diurnal songbirds such as clothes birds fed (Drepanidinae) that they probably hunted by day. The only non-songbird to be found is the Lilliput Moorhen ( Porzana menehune ). The location of the bones and bulges in sand dunes indicates that these birds have rested in the coastal vegetation or dune hollows; it is also believed that they were ground breeders.
The previous sites are limited to Momooni and Illio Point on Molokaʻi. A spread on Maui is suspected, since the two islands together formed Maui Nui a million years ago , but it has not yet been confirmed. The Kauai long-legged owl probably died out during the colonization of Hawaii by the Polynesians in the 1st millennium AD. The introduced pigs ( Sus scrofa ) and rats ( Rattus exulans ) were both food competitors and predators who preyed on eggs and nestlings.
Systematics and Etymology
The scientific name of the species is made up of Grallistrix ("owls on stilts") and geleches ( Greek for "sleeping on the ground"). The latter alludes to the location of the skeletons in the dunes, which are believed to be resting places.
The relationships within the genus Grallistrix are unclear. A closer relationship to the morphologically similar Kauai long-legged owl is unlikely because of the great distance between Molokaʻi and Kauai, especially since that of the much smaller Oahu long-legged owl ( G. orion ) was between their areas of distribution .
References
literature
- Storrs L. Olson , Helen F. James : Descriptions of thirty-two new Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands. In: Ornithological Monographs 45, June 1991. ISBN 0-935868-54-2 . Pp. 68-72 & 76-80. (Available online as PDF )
- Harold Douglas Pratt: The Hawaiian honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 019854653X