Talpanas lippa
| Talpanas lippa | ||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||
| Talpanas | ||||||||
| Olson & James, 2009 | ||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||
| Talpanas lippa | ||||||||
| Olson & James , 2009 |
Talpanas lippa is an extinct species of duck that was endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i . It is the only known species in the genus Talpanas . The first scientific description was in November 2009 by Storrs L. Olson and Helen F. James in the journal Zootaxa . The species is only known from subfossil material that was brought to light in the Makauwahi Cave in the Māhāʻulepū Valley on Kauaʻi. The age of the bones is said to date from 4050 BC. BC (6000 y BP ) estimated.
etymology
The generic name " Talpanas " is derived from the Latin name "talpa" for mole and refers to the tiny eyes. “ Anas ” is the Greek word for duck. The type of epithet " lippa " is derived from the Latin word " lippus " for "almost blind".
description
The tarsometatarsus of Talpanas lippa is short and strong. The skull is flat and wide in relation to its length. The eye sockets (orbit) and the foramina optica (holes in the skull through which the optic nerves run from the eyes to the brain) are very small. Overall, the body features show that this duck's eyes and optic nerves were significantly reduced. Therefore, it can be assumed that this species was almost blind and probably flightless. However, the upper and lower foramina (holes through which the trigeminal nerve passes) are very large, suggesting that there were larger nerves for the sense of touch. Olson and James suggest that this duck used olfactory stimuli and its sensitive beak to explore its surroundings in the absence of good eyesight .
The holotype , which consists of a partially preserved skull, is held at the Smithsonian Institution under label number USNM 535683 .
Way of life
Talpanas lippa presumably had a nocturnal and terrestrial way of life. It probably occupied the same ecological niche as the kiwifruit in New Zealand today .
literature
- AL Iwaniuk, SL Olson, HF James: Extraordinary cranial specialization in a new genus of extinct duck (Aves: Anseriformes) from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands . Zootaxa, 2296, pp. 47–67, Magnolia Press, Auckland, New Zealand, November 24, 2009 Online (PDF; 591 kB)
- Burney et al .: Fossil evidence for a diverse biota from Kaua'i and its transformation since human arrival . Ecological Society of America, Ecological monographs, 71 (4), pp. 615-641, Washington DC 2001 ISSN 0012-9615