Porphyrio mcnabi
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| Kirchman & Steadman , 2006 |
Huahine swamphen is an extinct Purpurhuhn that on the Society Islands belonging island Huahine endemic was. The species epithet honors the zoologist Brian K. McNab, who researched the evolution and physiological ecology of flightless birds, especially walruses, on the Pacific Islands. The subfossil remains were brought to the surface in the Fa'ahia site.
features
The holotype is a nearly complete right femur . The paratypes include a distal left femur and a left femur that is missing the distal end. Porphyrio mcnabi was a little purple hen. It was similar in size to the pygmy sultan's chicken ( Porphyrio martinica ) and the also extinct koau ( Porphyrio paepae ). It was bigger than the bronze Sultan chicken ( porphyrio alleni ) and the Azur Sultan chicken ( porphyrio flavirostris ), but less than the extinct North Island Takahē ( porphyrio mantelli ) which takahē ( porphyrio hochstetteri ), the ordinary Purpurhuhn ( porphyrio porphyrio ) and the extinct New Caledonian Purpurhuhn ( porphyrio kukwiedei ). It is likely that the three thigh bones belong to an adult female, a juvenile male, and another juvenile bird. Due to the lack of skeletal elements of the flight apparatus and the shoulder girdle, it cannot be conclusively determined whether Porphyrio mcnabi was able to fly or not.
die out
Porphyrio mcnabi is believed to have died out during the early human settlement of the Society Islands between 700 and 1200 AD.
literature
- Jeremy J. Kirchman & David W. Steadman: New Species of Rails (Aves: Rallidae) from an Archaeological Site on Huahine, Society Islands In: Pacific Science, 60 (2): pp. 281-297. University of Hawai'i Press, 2006.