Pleistorallus flemingi, also referred to as Fleming's rail, is a genus and species of extinct bird in the rail family from the Middle Pleistocene (about one million years ago) of New Zealand. It was a large and stout rail about the same size as the extant takahē. It was described by Trevor Worthy in 1997 from fossil material (a right tibiotarsus and distal left femur) found in coastal deposits near Marton, in the Rangitikei District of the North Island. The genus name Pleistorallus refers to the Pleistocene age of the fossils; the specific epithet honours Charles Fleming (1916–1987) for his contributions to New Zealand ornithology and palaeontology.[2][3]
| Pleistorallus flemingi Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | †Pleistorallus Worthy, 1997[1] |
| Species: | †P. flemingi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Pleistorallus flemingi Worthy, 1997
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References
edit- ^ Worthy, T.H. (1997). "A mid-Pleistocene rail from New Zealand". Alcheringa. 21 (1): 71–78. Bibcode:1997Alch...21...71W. doi:10.1080/03115519708619186.
- ^ Gill, B.J. (Convener, OSNZ Checklist Committee) (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica. Fourth edition. Wellington: Te PaPa Press in association with the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. pp. 331–332. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Miskelly, C.M. (2013). "Fleming's rail". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
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