Tahiti Sandpiper (Prosobonia leucoptera)
Posted on 31 December, 1777 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1777
Comments:
This species was known from Tahiti, French Polynesia, but it has not been recorded since a specimen was collected in 1777, and is now Extinct. Predation by introduced rats is likely to have been the primary driver.
Habitat:
All that is known of the species' ecology is that Forster noted that the birds occurred along highland streams (Walters 1994).
Causes:
Its extinction was probably caused by introduced rats, and possibly goats and pigs (Greenway 1967, Hume 2017).
Distribution:
Prosobonia leucoptera was endemic to Tahiti, in the Society Islands, French Polynesia (Pratt et al. 1987). The type was collected by Johann Forster and painted by his son in 1773; the specimen is now in Leiden and the painting in London (Walters 1994). Another specimen, now lost, was taken in 1777 (Greenway 1967).