Gallirallus
Weka, Gallirallus australis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Gallirallus
Lafresnaye, 1841
Species

1 living, and see text

Synonyms
  • Tricholimnas
  • Hypotaenidia

Gallirallus is a genus of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. The genus is characterised by an ability to colonise relatively small and isolated islands and thereafter to evolve flightless forms, many of which became extinct following Polynesian settlement.

Taxonomy

Following recent taxonomic revisions, there is only one known extant species in this genus along with several extinct species of dubious classification, with all other species being moved to Hypotaenidia, Cabalus, or Aptenorallus.[1]

Description

Many of the rails, including the well-known weka of New Zealand, are flightless or nearly so. Many of the resultant flightless island endemics became extinct after the arrival of humans, which hunted these birds for food, introduced novel predators like rats, dogs or pigs, and upset the local ecosystems. A common Polynesian name of these rails, mainly relatives of G. philippensis, is veka/weka (in English, this name is generally limited to Gallirallus australis).

On the other hand, Gallirallus species are (with the exception of the weka) notoriously retiring and shy birds with often drab coloration.

Living and recently extinct species

In the online list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the genus contains only one extant species:[1]

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
WekaGallirallus australisNew Zealand

These species were placed by BirdLife International and IUCN in the separate genus Hypotaenidia, but are still considered part of Gallirallus by The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World / eBird:

The Calayan rail (formerly Gallirallus calayanensis) was placed into the genus Aptenorallus in 2021.[2]

Species extinct before A.D. 1500

Illustration of an unidentified extinct species (possibly G. vekamatolu) from Vava'u, 1793

Aside from the weka, all species classified in the genus Gallirallus are only known from subfossil remains, having gone extinct in the Quaternary extinction event. Given the recent taxonomic changes that have led to the weka being the only remaining Gallirallus species, it is possible these may also belong to different genera, but are presently retained in Gallirallus due to uncertainty.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Finfoots, flufftails, rails, trumpeters, cranes, Limpkin – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  2. ↑ Kirchman, Jeremy J.; McInerney, Nancy Rotzel; Giarla, Thomas C.; Olson, Storrs L.; Slikas, Elizabeth; Fleischer, Robert C. (16 July 2021). "Phylogeny based on ultra-conserved elements clarifies the evolution of rails and allies (Ralloidea) and is the basis for a revised classification". Ornithology. 138 (4): 1–21. doi:10.1093/ornithology/ukab042. ISSN 0004-8038.
  3. 1 2 Salvador, Rodrigo B.; Anderson, Atholl; Tennyson, Alan J.D. (2021). "An Extinct New Rail (Gallirallus, Aves: Rallidae) Species from Rapa Island, French Polynesia". Taxonomy. 1 (4): 448–457. doi:10.3390/taxonomy1040032.
  4. 1 2 3 Kirchman, Jeremy J.; Steadman, David. (2007). "New species of extinct rails (Aves: Rallidae) from archaeological sites in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia". Pacific Science. 61 (1): 145–163. doi:10.1353/psc.2007.0008. hdl:10125/22605. S2CID 86793953. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014.(subscription required)
  5. ↑ "Gallirallus huiatua; holotype". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Steadman, David W.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Anderson, Atholl; Walter, Richard. (1 June 2000). "New species and records of birds from prehistoric sites on Niue, southwest Pacific". Wilson Bulletin. 112 (2): 165–186. doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0165:NSAROB]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86588636. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007.(subscription required)
  7. ↑ Steadman, D. W. (1986). "Two new species of rails (Aves: Rallidae) from Mangaia, Southern Cook Islands". Pacific Science. 40 (1): 27–43.
  8. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H.; Bollt, Robert. (1 January 2011). "Prehistoric birds and bats from the Atiahara site, Tubuai, Austral Islands, East Polynesia". Pacific Science. 65 (1): 69–86. doi:10.2984/65.1.069. hdl:10125/23211. S2CID 54836563. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014.(subscription required)
  9. ↑ A similar bird was found to live on nearby Vava‘u in 1793. Given that G. vekamatolu was flightless, this may just as well represent a related species.
  10. ↑ Kirchman, J.J.; Steadman, D. W. (2005). "Rails (Aves: Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric sites in the Kingdom of Tonga, including description of a new species". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118 (2): 465–477. doi:10.2988/0006-324x(2005)118[465:rargfp]2.0.co;2. S2CID 86755841.
  11. ↑ "State Library of New South Wales". Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H.; Burley, David V. (2020). "Prehistoric avifaunas from the Kingdom of Tonga". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 189 (3): 998–1045. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz110.
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