Telespiza ypsilon
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| Olson & James , 1991 |
Telespiza ypsilon (English common name : Maui-Nui Finch) is an extinct species of bird from the tribe of Hawaiian honeysuckles . It occurred on Maui and Moloka'i .
features
Telespiza ypsilon was the smallest member of the genus Telespiza . The beak was smaller with larger nostrils than the other species of this genus. Osteological comparisons between the extinct taxa Telespiza ypsilon and Telespiza persecutrix as well as the recent Nihoa pimple ( Telespiza ultima ) allow the assumption that Telespiza ypsilon may have resembled the Nihoa pimple in its plumage. The type material, which consists of a complete upper jaw as well as upper and lower jaw fragments, was discovered in 1976 by Storrs Olson and Joan Aidem at Ilio Point on Molokaʻi and in the Puu Naio Cave on Maui.
distribution and habitat
Telespiza ypsilon was probably spread over the entire Maui Nui island complex , which includes the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe . The subfossil material has so far only been discovered on Maui and Molokaʻi. The abundance of the bones suggests that this species was common in arid, lowland habitats. However, it could also have lived in dry highland forests. A lower jaw branch ( ramus mandibulae ) of the similar, previously undescribed taxon Telespiza affinis ypsilon was found in the humid highlands near Lua Lepo at an altitude of 808 meters in eastern Maui.
Predators
53 percent of the bone material found at Ilio Point came from the debris deposits of the Kauai long-legged owl, which was also extinct . According to Storrs Olson, Telespiza ypsilon could therefore have been an important prey for this owl species.
die out
Telespiza ypsilon is known only from subfossil material. The causes and timing of the extinction are unknown. Presumably the species died out during the Polynesian colonization, but before the arrival of the Europeans in the 18th century.
etymology
The type epithet is derived from the letter ypsilon , which is in the twentieth position in the Greek alphabet. This name was chosen because the excavation site at Illo Point is called "Site 20".
literature
- Pratt, Harold Douglas: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers . Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 9780198546535 .
- Olson, Storrs L .; James, Helen F. (1991): Descriptions of Thirty-Two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes . Ornithological Monographs 46: 1-91. PDF online .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Olson & James, 1991