Oahu O’o (Moho apicalis)

Year Last Seen:

1837

Comments:

This species was known from the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, USA, but is now Extinct as a result of habitat loss and introduced disease. The last record dates from 1837, and it was not found by the collectors that visited the island in the 1890s.

Habitat:

Nothing is known, though it is likely to have been similar to the other members of the genus.

Causes:

Its extinction was presumably caused by a combination of habitat destruction and the introduction of disease-carrying mosquitoes (Pratt 1994). Hunting for its feathers was also likely a contributing factor (Hume 2017).

Distribution:

Moho apicalis was restricted to forest on O'ahu, Hawai'i, USA (Pratt et al. 1987). It is known only from around seven specimens, the last three of which were collected by Ferdinand Deppe in the hills behind Honolulu in 1837. None of the collectors visiting O'ahu between 1890 and 1900 found any trace of it (Greenway 1967), and it is now considered Extinct.

References:

IUCN Redbook Data