Tag Archives: Rallus

Rallus sp. ‘Terceira’

Terceira Rail (Rallus sp.)

This form is known from not less than 13 associated skeletons which were recovered from cave deposits on the island of Terceira, one of the Azores Islands, Portugal, most of which, however, with fragmentary bones only.

The Terceira Rail was a member of the genus Rallus but has not yet being described. [1]

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There is a very exceptional specimen that can be assigned to this species that was found in Algar do Carvão, a chimney of a former volcano in the center of Terceina. This specimen is of an individual that was mummified by natural processes and is now preserved as a three-dimensional body still bearing soft body parts, skin and feathers “wrapped” in a silicified crust. [1]

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References:

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus montivagorum Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando

Pico Rail (Rallus montivagorum)

The Pico Rail was described in 2015, it is known from subfossil material that had been collected in 2013 at a place named Furna das Torres on the island of Pico, Azores, Portugal.

The species derived from the European mainland Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus L.) and differed from that species by its slighly smaller size and a reduced sternum which indicates that it probably was completely flightless.

Some of the remains could be dated to an age of about 1405 to 1450, that is around the same time when Portugese begun to colonize the Azores. [1]

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References:

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus sp. ‘Santa Maria’

Santa Maria Rail (Rallus sp.)

This form is known from ten subfossil bones, most of them fragmentary only, collected on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores group, Portugal.

The Santa Maria Rail most likely was a distinct species. [1]

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References:

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus sp. ‘Graciosa’

Graciosa Rail (Rallus sp.)

This up to now unnamed form is known from 21 subfossil bones, 12 of them only fragments, collected in 2014 on the island of Graciosa in the Azores, Portugal.

The form has not yet being described but can be assigned to the genus Rallus and most likely was a distinct species. [1]

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References:

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus carvaoensis Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando

Sao Miguel Rail (Rallus carvaoensis)

The Sao Miguel Rail was described in 2015 based on subfossil remains that had been excavated from deposits from the Gruta do Carvão on the island of São Miguel, one of the Azores Islands, Portugal.

Like its congeners from the other islands of the Azores, also known by subfossil remains, this one too was a derivative of the Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus L.) from the European mainland. [1]

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References:

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus nanus Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando

Sao Jorge Rail (Rallus nanus)

 

The Sao Jorge Rail was described in 2015 based on subfossil bones that had been recovered from the deposits of the Gruta do Pasto do Engenheiro on the island of São Jorge, one of the Azores Islands, Portugal.

The species was smaller than any other member of its genus, it was completely flightless and had a somewhat enlarged beak, compared to its body size, which was also somewhat curved downward. [1]

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The scientific name under which the species was described, Rallus minutus Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando, was later found to be preoccopied, making it a primary homonym, so the species was re-named in 2016. [2]

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References:

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015
[2] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Rallus nanus nomen novum: a replacement name for Rallus minutus Alcover et al. 2015. Zootaxa 4085(1): 141-142. 2016

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus semiplumbeus ssp. peruvianus Taczanowski

Peruvian Rail (Rallus semiplumbeus ssp. peruvianus)

The Peruvian Rail was described in 1886 as a subspecies of the Bogota Rail (Rallus semiplumbeus P. L. Sclater) based on a single specimen that was collected somewhere in the Peruvian highlands. 

The supposed subspecies reached a size of about 25 cm and is said to have differed from the nominate form sufficiently enough to warrant full species status.

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus lowei Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando

Lowe’s Rail (Rallus lowei)  

The former existence of a now extinct species of rail on the island of Madeira, Portugal has been known for several decades since subfossil material was found at several localities all over the island, yet, these bones had to wait for 2015 to be finally described.  

Lowe’s Rail was the largest of the extinct Macaronesian endemic rails, yet was still smaller than its derivative, the Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus L.) from the European mainland.  

The species was a flightless form with robust legs, it likely inhabited the dense wet laurel forests that once covered most of Madeira’s surface. [1]  

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References:  

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015  

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edited: 10.09.2019

Rallus eivissensis McMinn, Palmer & Alcover

Ibiza Rail (Rallus eivissensis)

The Ibiza Rail was described in 2005 based on subfossil bones that had been recovered from the deposits of a cave at Es Pouàs on the island of Ibiza in the Spanish Balearic Islands, Spain.

The species was closely realated to, and perhaps derived from the Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus L.) but was slightly smaller and stouter-built, yet, unusual for a insular endemic rail, it was not flightless.

The Ibiza Rail disappeared around 5300 to about 4300 years B.P., at around the time when the first humans arrived at the Balearic Islands.

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References:

[1] M. McMinn; M. Palmer; Josep Antoni Alcover: A new species of rail (Aves: Rallidae) from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene of Ibiza (Pityusic Islands, western Mediterranean). Ibis 147(4): 706-716. 2005

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edited: 11.09.2019

Rallus adolfocaesaris Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando

Porto Santo Rail (Rallus adolfocaesaris)  

The Porto Santo Rail was described in 2015, but its remains were already known for some time (as Rallus sp. ‘Porto Santo’).  

The species was restricted to the island of Porto Santo, it was quite gracile but nevertheless completely flightless.  

The Porto Santo Rail disappeared shortly after the Madeiran Islands were discovered and settled by Portoguese settlers at the beginning of the 15th century. [1]  

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References:  

[1] Josep Antoni Alcover; Harald Pieper; Fernando Pereira; Juan Carlos Rando: Five new extinct species of rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from the Macaronesian Islands (North Atlantic Ocean). Zootaxa 4057(2): 151-190. 2015  

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edited: 10.09.2019