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| Gallirallus astolfoi Salvador, Anderson & Tennyson, 2021 |
Abstract
A new species of rail, Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov., is described from Rapa Island (Rapa Iti), French Polynesia. The holotype (and single known specimen) is a left tarsometatarsus recovered from Tangarutu Cave. This rail species was apparently endemic to Rapa Iti and potentially flightless. It became extinct after human colonisation of the island.
Keywords: endemic species; flightlessness; Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov.; Holocene; Rapa Iti
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| Left tarsometatarsus (holotype, NMNZ S.044399) of Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov. in different views: (A) anterior, (B) caudal, (C) lateral, (D) medial, (E) proximal, (F) distal. |
Family Rallidae
Genus Gallirallus Lafresnaye,1841
Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov.
rail (cf. Gallirallus): Tennyson & Anderson, 2012: 108.
Holotype: NMNZ S.044399 (left tarsometatarsus; A. Anderson col. 21/vii/2002).
Type locality: French Polynesia, Rapa Island (Rapa Iti), Tangarutu Cave, Section S1 (30–40 cm).
Diagnosis: Tarsometatarsus small (ca. 34.5 mm long), of delicate appearance, with narrow and shallow shaft, and narrow trochleae (particularly the trochlea metatarsi II).
Etymology: The specific epithet honours Astolfo, one of Charlemagne’s fictional paladins. In the epic Orlando Furioso, Astolfo becomes trapped on a remote island because of the sorceress Alcina.
Conclusions:
Gallirallus astolfoi sp. nov. from Rapa Iti is the seventh extinct species in the genus to be described from French Polynesia (Table 1), excluding the potential undescribed one mentioned above. Excluding the volant G. philippensis, the species geographically closest to G. astolfoi sp. nov. is G. steadmani from Tubuai, ca. 700 km NW from Rapa Iti. As new specimens continue to be discovered and described, the scenario of a multitude of endemic rail species across the Pacific Islands is becoming more evident, offering further evidence in support of the above-mentioned hypothesis [8,30]. Likewise, the list of species extinct after human contact during the past millennia is becoming more extensive, adding to the corpus of data on the demise of insular faunas.
Rodrigo B. Salvador , Atholl Anderson and Alan J. D. Tennyson. 2021. An Extinct New Rail (Gallirallus, Aves: Rallidae) Species from Rapa Island, French Polynesia. Taxonomy. 2021, 1(4), 448-457. DOI: 10.3390/taxonomy1040032
