New Caledonian Rail

New Caledonian Rail
Drawing from 1873
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Gruiformes
Family:	Rallidae
Genus:	Gallirallus
Species:	G. lafresnayanus
Binomial name
Gallirallus lafresnayanus (Verreaux and Des Murs, 1860)

The New Caledonian Rail (Gallirallus lafresnayanus) is a large and drab flightless rail that is found on the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific. It is a dull brown above, with grey underparts, and has a yellowish, downward-curving bill. No one knows what it sounds like and it is not even known if it is a nocturnal or crepuscular rail.

This cryptic rail is only known from seventeen specimens taken between 1860 and 1890 on New Caledonia. This bird is supposed to live in evergreen forests and seems to have moved higher up on the island to escape introduced predators. Its diet consists of invertebrates, including earthworms.

Though the bird has not been confirmed since 1890, unconfirmed reports from the 1960s and 1984 say that some still live in the higher montane forests. A survey in 1998 produced no firm evidence from hunters or fieldwork. However, many still believe it persists in small numbers.

This bird was host to a species of parasite, the phtilopterid louse Rallicola piageti. This is not believed to have occurred on any other bird species [1]. Hence, R. piageti may be coextinct today (May 1990).

The binomial commemorates the French ornithologist Frederic de Lafresnaye.

References

• BirdLife International (2006). Gallirallus lafresnayanus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 26 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered

• Mey, Eberhard (1990): Eine neue ausgestorbene Vogel-Ischnozere von Neuseeland, Huiacola extinctus (Insecta, Phthiraptera). Zoologischer Anzeiger 224(1/2): 49-73. [German with English abstract] PDF fulltext

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.

This Gruiformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: IUCN Red List critically endangered species Extinct flightless birds Gallirallus Birds of New Caledonia Gruiformes stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу SWEDAC Steve Arnold (footballer) Look at other dictionaries: New Caledonian rail — Naujosios Kaledonijos vištelė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Gallirallus lafresnayanus angl. New Caledonian rail vok. Pelzralle, f pranc. râle de Lafresnaye, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – Australazijos ir Ramiojo… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas New Caledonia rain forests — Tree ferns on Isle of Pines The New Caledonia rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion, located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, part of the Australasia ecozone. Contents …   Wikipedia List of birds of New Caledonia — This is a list of the bird species recorded in New Caledonia. The avifauna of New Caledonia includes a total of 189 species, of which 23 are endemic, 14 have been introduced by humans, and 48 are rare or accidental. 3 species listed are… …   Wikipedia Biodiversity of New Caledonia — The Biodiversity of New Caledonia is considered to be one of the most important in the world. New Caledonia, a large south Pacific island group about 1,200 km east of Australia, supports high levels of endemism, with many unique plants,… …   Wikipedia Endemic birds of New Caledonia — This article is one of a series providing information about endemism among birds in the World s various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds.Patterns of endemismNew Caledonia has a single endemic family, the… …   Wikipedia New South Wales C35 class locomotive — New South Wales C35 class 3526 passes through Hawkesbury River station with a northbound passenger train. Power type Steam Builder NSWGR Eveleigh Workshops Build date …   Wikipedia Caledonian Railway — The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company operating in Scotland. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by… …   Wikipedia Caledonian Sleeper — Infobox Rail companies bgcolor = white image filename = Caledonian90019.jpg widthpx = 300px franchise = Part of ScotRail franchise (17 October 2004 2014) logo filename = Caledonian sleeper branding.png nameforarea = route regions = London… …   Wikipedia New Cross Gate railway station — Not to be confused with New Cross railway station. New Cross Gate …   Wikipedia New Cross railway station — Not to be confused with New Cross Gate railway station. New Cross …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”