The North Island takahē (Māori: moho)[3] (Porphyrio mantelli) is an extinct species of flightless swamphen that was native to the North Island of New Zealand. It is closely related to the living South Island takahē.
| North Island takahē | |
|---|---|
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| Fossil cranial remains of P. mantelli (7-13) compared to those of a smaller, extant member of Porphyrio | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Porphyrio |
| Species: | †P. mantelli
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| Binomial name | |
| †Porphyrio mantelli (Owen, 1848)
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| Locations where fossils have been found | |
Description
editThis flightless species is known from subfossils from a number of sites across North Island. The North Island takahē compared to the South island species was proportionally larger, but had a smaller premaxilla (and thus beak) relative to body size. Other differences from the South island species include the more elongate tarsometatarsus bones of the legs relative to the tibiotarsus.[4]
Taxonomy
editTraditionally the North Island takahē was considered conspecific with the endangered South Island takahē. Trewick (1996) suggested that the two taxa were independently derived from two separate colonisations by flying ancestors, so proved to be separate species.[4] However, this was challenged by the result of subsequent DNA analysis, which suggested that the two takahē species were each other's closest relatives and as such probably originated from a single colonisation of New Zealand, but were divergent enough from each other to warrant being considered distinct species, with the split estimated to have occurred 4 to 1.5 million years ago.[5]
| Porphyrio |
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The binomial of this bird commemorates the naturalist and civil servant Walter Mantell.
Extinction
editThe North Island takahē became extinct sometime after Māori settlement of New Zealand around 1320 AD. Some reports have suggested that the species may have persisted until the 19th century, but this is unconfirmed.[5]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Porphyrio mantelli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22728833A94998264. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22728833A94998264.en.
- ^ "Porphyrio mantelli". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ "moho". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ a b Trewick, S. A. (February 1996). "Morphology and evolution of two takahe: flightless rails of New Zealand". Journal of Zoology. 238 (2): 221–237. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05391.x. ISSN 0952-8369.
- ^ a b Verry, Alexander J. F.; Mas-Carrió, Eduard; Gibb, Gillian C.; Dutoit, Ludovic; Robertson, Bruce C.; Waters, Jonathan M.; Rawlence, Nicolas J. (February 2024). "Ancient mitochondrial genomes unveil the origins and evolutionary history of New Zealand's enigmatic takahē and moho". Molecular Ecology. 33 (3). doi:10.1111/mec.17227. ISSN 0962-1083. PMID 38018770.
- Phillipps, W. J. (1959): The Last (?) Occurrence of Notornis in the North Island. Notornis 8(4): 93–94. [1]
- Worthy, Trevor H. & Holdaway R. N. (2002): The lost world of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. ISBN 0-253-34034-9.
External links
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