Hawaiian Rail (Zapornia sandwichensis)
Posted on 31 December, 1860 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1860
Comments:
This species was found in the Hawaiian Islands, USA, but became extinct in the 1860s likely as a result of introduced predators. The last specimen was taken in 1864.
Habitat:
It inhabited clearings in upland forest.
Causes:
The timing of its extinction indicates that it was perhaps not caused by mongooses, as they were not introduced until 1883. More probably, it was due to a long process of predation by rats, cats, dogs and people (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). The species was also hunted.
Distribution:
Zapornia sandwichensis occurred on Hawai'i, U.S.A., and may also have occurred on Molokai (Pratt et al. 1987). It is known from bones and a number of specimens (Olson and James 1991), and was illustrated by William Wade Ellis on James Cook's third voyage (Stresemann 1950). The last specimen was collected in 1864 (Taylor and van Perlo 1998).