Rovianaralle
| Rovianaralle | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Gallirallus rovianae | ||||||||||||
| Diamond , 1991 |
The Rovianaralle ( Gallirallus rovianae ) is a living flightless or poorly flying rail from the New Georgia Archipelago in the Solomon Islands . It was rediscovered between 1972 and 1976. The locals call it "Kitikete" in their language.
description
It is a medium-sized rail whose plumage is similar to that of the common rail ( Gallirallus phillipinensis ). It is also similar in size and beak size, but has much longer foot bones. The upper side of the Rovianaralle is unmarked chestnut brown, while the underside is strikingly striped. The ocher-colored or reddish breast resembles that of the Wekaralle, as well as that of the bandage rail and the Guamralle. The wings are maroon like the back but have eight small white spots on the flight feathers. The Rovianaralle is thus drawn less conspicuously than the bandage rail, whereby the stripes on the wings and under the tail and the facial markings are greatly reduced, while the back has lost all markings.
distribution
It is known from the island of New Georgia and the four neighboring islands of Kolombangara , Kohinggo , Wana Wana and Rendova . Other occurrences could be on Vangunu and Tetepare . These islands were connected to each other in the last ice age when the sea level was 100–150 m lower than today. The Rail is closely related to the binding Rail and the Guam Rail ( G. owstonii ) and the Wake Island Rail ( G. wakensis ) very similar to what is due to convergent evolution.
etymology
The epithet "rovianae" is derived from the language "Roviana" spoken by the inhabitants of the islands on which the rail was found.
source
- Jared Diamond: A new species of rail from the solomon islands and convergent evolution of insular flightlessness . Vol. 108, No. 3, July-September, 1991
Web link
- Hypotaenidia rovianae inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2014.