Takahe

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South Island Takahe ( Porphyrio hochstetteri )

As Takahe ( Takahē ) or blue Rail refers to two mutually very similar flightless birds of New Zealand: the takahē ( Porphyrio hochstetteri ) and the extinct North Island Takahē ( Porphyrio mantelli ) leading to the purple chickens count.

In 1848 Richard Owen described the North Island of the Island under the name of Notornis mantelli based on bone finds (skull and sternum) that Walter B. Mantell had made in 1847 . In 1849 seamen caught a seal hunt, which Owen described as belonging to the same species as the bone finds from 1847. The South Island kahe was first named in 1883 by Adolf Bernhard Meyer as Notornis hochstetteri . The genus Notornis thus comprised two types of flightless rails. In 1923 it was proposed again for the first time that the North Island and the South Island akahe should be listed as subspecies of a single species, which then became N. mantelli subsp. mantelli and N. mantelli subsp. hochstetteri were called. That was generally accepted in the following years.

In 1988 the view prevailed that Takahes are very closely related to the purple hen ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) and only separated from it about 2 million years ago. Therefore, despite the changes in the skeleton caused by the inability to fly, they are assigned to the genus Porphyrio .

In 1996 a morphometric examination confirmed that the two Takahes are separate species. Trewick proved in 1997 that the two species are genetically so different that they are not only different species, but also evolved independently of one another from the same species or two closely related, similar flightable species.

literature

  • Richard Owen : Restoration of Notornis . In: Memoirs on the Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand, with an Appendix on those of England, Australia, Newfoundland, Mauritius, and Rodriguez . Vol. II. Plates. . John Van Voorst , London 1879, p. 436–439 (English, online [PDF; 326 kB ; accessed on May 18, 2019]).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Steven A. Trewick: Sympatric flightless rails Gallirallus dieffenbachii and G. modestus on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand; morphometrics and alternative evolutionary scenarios. In: Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Volume 27, Number 4, December 1997, pages 451-464. doi : 10.1080 / 03014223.1997.9517548
  2. ↑ Owen : Restoration of Notornis . In: Memoirs on the Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand ... . 1879, p.  436 .
  3. ^ GR Williams: The Takahe (Notornis mantelli Owen, 1848): A General Survey. In: Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868-1961. Volume 88, 1960-61, pages 235-258. ( online )
  4. ^ Brian Reid: Sightings and records of the takahae “Notornis mantelli” prior to its “official rediscovery” by Dr. GB Orbell in 1948. In: Notornis. Volume 21, Part 4, December 1974, pages 277-295.
  5. ^ T. Jeffery Parker: On the Skeleton of Notornis mantelli. In: Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868-1961. Volume 14, 1881, Art. XXXII., Pages 245-258. ( online )
  6. ^ Judah S. Bunin, Ian G. Jamieson: A cross-fostering experiment between the endangered takahe (Porphyrio mantelli) and its closest relative, the pukeko (P. porphyrio). In: New Zealand Journal of Ecology [NZJ ECOL.]. Volume 20, Number 2, 1996, pages 207-213. ( online ; PDF; 142 kB)
  7. ↑ Steven A. Trewick: Flightlessness and phylogeny amongst endemic rails (Aves: Rallidae) of the New Zealand region. In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Volume 352, Number 1352, April 1997, Pages 429-446 doi : 10.1098 / rstb.1997.0031
  8. ↑ Bradley C. Livecey: A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae). In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Volume 353, Number 1378, December 1998, Pages 2077-2151 doi : 10.1098 / rstb.1998.0353
  9. ^ Ian G. Jamieson, Christine J. Ryan: Increased egg infertility associated with translocating inbred takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) to island refuges in New Zealand. In: Biological Conservation. Volume 94, Issue 1, June 2000, pages 107-114. doi : 10.1016 / S0006-3207 (99) 00158-5