Tag Archives: Porzana sp. Mangaia

Zapornia sp. ‘Mangaia’

Small Mangaian Crake (Zapornia sp. 

The fossil record proves that once as many as three species of the genus Zapornia occurred next to each other on the island of Mangaia, Cook Islands.  

These are the extant Spotless Crake (Zapornia tabuensis (Gmelin)), which is probably locally extinct, the Mangaian Crake (Zapornia rua (Steadman)), which was endemic to the island and is now extinct, and a third species, not yet described.  

This third species was smaller than the Mangaian Crake and was very likely flightless too. [1]  

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References:  

[1] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press 2006  

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edited: 20.03.2018