Kauai Palila
| Kauai Palila | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Loxioides kikuchi | ||||||||||||
| Olson & James , 2006 |
The Kauai Palila ( Loxioides kikuchi ), also known as Pilas Palila , is an extinct species of songbird from the subfamily of the honeysuckle (Drepanidinae). The art epithet honors William “Pila” and Delores Kikuchi, who assisted in the paleontological excavation work on Kaua'i in the 1990s .
features
The Kauai Palila is only known for two upper jaws that were unearthed in December 1997 and August 1998 in the Makauwahi Cave in the Koloa Quadrange on Kaua'i. Part of the left lateral nasal process is missing in both maxillae . The Kauai Palila was larger than its living relative from the island of Hawaii . It also did not have a hook-shaped beak, so it can be assumed that it is a different food than the Palila ( Loxioides bailleui ). In relation to its width, the upper beak was short and bent extremely backwards.
die out
The subfossil remains were discovered in a stratigraphic unit that is dated to be 300 to 600 years old. Storrs Lovejoy Olson and Helen Frances James , who described the species in 2006, suspect that the Kauai Palila could have survived until the late 18th or early 19th century and only became extinct when Kauai was settled by the Europeans. Apparently it was overlooked during the expeditions of Captains James Cook and James King in 1778 and 1779, as well as during the excursions of John Kirk Townsend and Thomas Nuttall in 1835.
literature
- Helen F. James & Storrs L. Olson: A new species of Hawaiian Finch (Drepanidini: Loxioides) from Makauwahi Cave, Kauaʻi In: The Auk 123 (2), 2006: S. 335-344
- Julian Pender Hume, Michael P. Walters: Extinct Birds , p. 306, A & C Black 2012, ISBN 140815725X