Tag Archives: Lakeba

Ptilinopus sp. ‘Lakeba’

Lakeba Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus sp.)

The Lakeba Fruit-Dove is known only from subfossil remains that were recovered from Archaeological sites on the island of Lakeba in the Lau Archipelago in eastern Fiji.

The remains cannot be assigned to any of the other fruit-dove species known from the Fijian Islands and thus most likely represents a distinct species. [1]

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References:

[1] D. W. Steadman; J. Franklin: A preliminary survey of landbirds on Lakeba, Lau Group, Fiji. Emu 100(3): 227-235. 2000

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edited: 29.05.2019

Ducula lakeba Worthy

Lakeba Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula lakeba)

The Lakeba Imperial-Pigeon was described based on subfossil bones that had been discovered on the island of Lakeba, Fiji.

The species was larger than any living species of its genus and had somewhat elongated tarsometatarsi, which might indicate that this was rather a ground-dwelling bird, it was, however, not flightless. [1]

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This- or a closely and similar species is also known from subfossil remains found on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji. [1]

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References:

[1] T. H. Worthy: A giant flightless pigeon gen. et sp. nov. and a new species of Ducula (Aves: Columbidae), from Quaternary deposits in Fiji. Journal of the royal Society of new Zealand 31(4): 763-794. 2001

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edited: 14.05.2019

Megapodius alimentum Steadman

Western Polynesian Megapode (Megapodius alimentum)

The Megapodes, so called for their large feet used for digging, are characterized by their strange breeding behavior: they do not incubate their eggs with their body heat as other birds do, but bury them.

Some species lay their eggs in the sand of beaches, heated up by the tropical sun, some use volcanically heat for incubation, others collect as much decaying plant material as possible to build so called mounds, in which they then place their eggs.

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Probably most islands in Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia formerly harbored their own populations of Megapodes, numerous species are now known from subfossil remains. Some species, most of them considered hypothetical, are known from eggs only, or from contemporary eye-witness accounts.

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The Western Polynesian Megapode, also known as Consumed Scrubfowl, was described in 1989, it is known from subfossil remains found on several islands of Fiji and Tonga.

The species was bigger than its living congeners, but by far not the biggest species, it was still volant and probably inhabited nearly all islands from the Fijian Lau group to the Tongan chain.

It disappeared after the colonization of these islands by the first Polynesian settlers, who not only hunted the adult birds but also dug up their eggs. [1][2]

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References:

[1] T. H. Worthy: The fossil megapodes (Aves: Megapodiidae) of Fiji with descriptions of a new genus and two new species. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 30(4): 337-364. 2000
[2] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press 2006

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edited: 31.10.2017