Saint Helena Rail (Laterallus podarces)
Posted on 31 December, 1550 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1550
Comments:
This species was known from St Helena, but is now Extinct. It was presumably driven to extinction by hunting soon after the island was discovered in 1502.
Habitat:
Nothing is known.
Causes:
It was large and flightless, and therefore probably hunted to extinction by humans and introduced predators.
Distribution:
Atlantisia podarces was described from fossils by Wetmore (1963) as a St Helena (to UK) endemic genus, Aphanocrex, but re-assigned to Atlantisia by Olson (1973). It presumably became extinct soon after the discovery of the island in 1502.