Eyles's harrier: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Extinct species of bird}} |
{{Short description|Extinct species of bird}} |
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{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2024}} |
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{{speciesbox |
{{speciesbox |
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| fossil_range= [[Pleistocene]]-[[Holocene]] |
| fossil_range= [[Pleistocene]]-[[Holocene]] |
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| image_alt = Profile of fossillised skull of Eyles' harrier. |
| image_alt = Profile of fossillised skull of Eyles' harrier. |
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| image_caption = Eyles's harrier skull held at [[Te Papa]], Wellington |
| image_caption = Eyles's harrier skull held at [[Te Papa]], Wellington |
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| genus = Circus |
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| status = EX |
| status = EX |
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| status_system = NZTCS |
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| status_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=''Circus teauteensis''. NZTCS |url=https://nztcs.org.nz/assessments/119026 |website=nztcs.org.nz |access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref> |
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| extinct = ca. 1400 (possibly 1870s) |
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| extinct = ~1400s |
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| species = teauteensis |
| species = teauteensis |
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| authority = [[Henry Ogg Forbes|Forbes]], 1892 |
| authority = [[Henry Ogg Forbes|Forbes]], 1892 |
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}} |
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'''Eyles's harrier''' ('''''Circus teauteensis''''') |
'''Eyles's harrier''' ('''''Circus teauteensis''''') ({{langx|mi|Kērangi}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eyles' harrier {{!}} Kērangi {{!}} New Zealand Birds Online |url=https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/eyles-harrier |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=nzbirdsonline.org.nz}}</ref> is an [[extinct]] [[bird of prey]] that was [[endemic]] to [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eyles' harrier {{!}} New Zealand Birds Online |url=https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/eyles-harrier |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Tennyson |first=Alan J. D. |title=Extinct birds of new zealand |publisher=Te Papa Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-909010-21-8 |edition=Reprint |location=Wellington, New Zealand |pages=58}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | It was an example of [[island gigantism]], as an adult female weighed around {{convert|2.5|to|3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, over twice as much as a [[swamp harrier]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/03014223.1997.9518107 |last=Holdaway |first=Richard N. |author2=Worthy, Trevor H. |year=1997 |title=A reappraisal of the late Quaternary fossil vertebrates of Pyramid Valley Swamp, North Canterbury, New Zealand |journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=69–121 |url= |
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| ⚫ | The [[nomenclature]] and [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] of |
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==Name== |
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A noted explorer, [[Charles Edward Douglas]], claims in his journals that he had an encounter with two [[Bird of prey|raptor]]s of immense size in the [[Landsborough River]] valley (probably in the 1870s), and shot and ate<!-- needs confirmation from primary source --> them.<ref name="Worthy and Holdaway" /> These birds might have been a last remnant of the mighty ''[[Poukai|pouakai]]'' ([[Haast's eagle]]), but this is very unlikely: for about half a millennium before then there had not been enough suitable prey for a population of Haast's eagle to maintain itself; furthermore, 19th-century Māori lore was quite adamant that the ''pouakai'' was a bird not seen in living memory.{{Original research inline|date=June 2008}}<!-- needs original (secondary) sources --> |
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This species was named after [[Jim Eyles]], paleontologist and former director of the [[Nelson Provincial Museum]] and the [[West Coast Museum]]. |
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==Description== |
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| ⚫ | It was an example of [[island gigantism]], as an adult female weighed around {{convert|2.5|to|3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, over twice as much as a [[swamp harrier]].<ref>Holdaway, R. N. (1989). ''New Zealand’s pre-human avifauna and its vulnerability''. New Zealand journal of ecology, 12(supplement), 11-25.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/03014223.1997.9518107 |last=Holdaway |first=Richard N. |author2=Worthy, Trevor H. |year=1997 |title=A reappraisal of the late Quaternary fossil vertebrates of Pyramid Valley Swamp, North Canterbury, New Zealand |journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=69–121 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233445238 |access-date=1 October 2022 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Its shape differed from that of most other [[harrier (bird)|harrier]]s, and it was initially mistaken for a huge [[hawk]], possibly a giant ''[[Accipiter]]''. |
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==Ecology== |
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It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small [[eagle]] species do: land animals weighing one or a few [[kilogram]]s. In its hunting strategy, however, it was more adapted to [[bird|avian]] prey, as aside from bats, mammals were entirely absent from New Zealand. Presumably, it hunted [[Diurnality|diurnal]] birds in a manner similar to [[goshawk]]s. |
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==Taxonomy== |
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Eyles' harrier was presumably somewhat similar to the living [[spotted harrier]], its closest living relative, from which it diverged around 2.4 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Knapp|first1=Michael|last2=Thomas|first2=Jessica E.|last3=Haile|first3=James|last4=Prost|first4=Stefan|last5=Ho|first5=Simon Y.W.|last6=Dussex|first6=Nicolas|last7=Cameron-Christie|first7=Sophia|last8=Kardailsky|first8=Olga|last9=Barnett|first9=Ross|last10=Bunce|first10=Michael|last11=Gilbert|first11=M. Thomas P.|date=May 2019|title=Mitogenomic evidence of close relationships between New Zealand's extinct giant raptors and small-sized Australian sister-taxa|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790318306328|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|language=en|volume=134|pages=122–128|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2019.01.026|pmid=30753886|s2cid=73420145 }}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The [[nomenclature]] and [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] of ''C. teauteensis'' are quite convoluted. As ''Circus eylesi'', it was only described in the mid-20th century, from remains found in [[Pyramid Valley]] in the South Island of New Zealand. However, essentially identical bones had been found about 100 years earlier by [[Augustus Hamilton]] and discussed subsequently by [[Henry Ogg Forbes]]; this material probably comes from the [[Te Aute]] region in the North Island. Forbes gave it the names ''Circus hamiltoni'' and ''Circus teauteensis'', but since it seems no [[holotype]] was ever formally named nor can be deduced from the minimal description; these names are generally considered ''[[nomina nuda]]''. ''C. teauteensis'' is considered valid, based on the argument that as with many New Zealand birds, it is reasonable to assume that North and South Island populations were at least distinct [[subspecies]], if not [[species]]. But even though [[Kálmán Lambrecht]] mentioned a putative holotype [[tibiotarsus]] (which still exists in the [[British Museum of Natural History|BMNH]]) he explicitly stated that Forbes' names were both invalid. In addition, harrier bones of comparatively recent age in the collection of [[Walter Mantell]], assigned to ''C. gouldi'' (an obsolete name of ''C. approximans'') by [[Richard Lydekker]], seem to be of a more robust bird judging from the published descriptions; this material may now be lost, but all things considered it is not unlikely to be the first remains of Eyles' harrier known to science.<ref name="Worthy and Holdaway">Worthy, T. H. and R. N. Holdaway. (2002): ''The lost world of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand''. [[Indiana University]] Press, Bloomington. {{ISBN|0-253-34034-9}}</ref> |
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Still, Douglas' observations on wildlife are generally trustworthy; a more probable explanation, given that the alleged three-metre wingspan of Douglas' birds is unlikely to have been more than a rough estimate, is that the birds were Eyles' harriers – modern estimates tend to assume that a 3-metre wingspan is decidedly large even for Haast's eagle; the wingspan of Eyles' harrier was probably somewhat short of 2 metres. Although the Eyles' harrier also became extinct in prehistoric times, its dietary habits alone make it a more likely candidate for late survival.{{Original research inline|date=June 2008}}<!-- needs original (secondary) sources --> |
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==Extinction== |
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The modern [[swamp harrier]] occurs all over New Zealand today. Even though the bones of its females can be mistaken for those of Eyles's harrier's males (as they differ little except in stoutness), all swamp harrier remains from the islands that have been studied in detail are some 1000 years old at most. That means that they post-date human settlement, i.e. there is no evidence for widespread coexistence of swamp and Eyles' harriers on New Zealand. Apparently, despite their considerable differences, the two harriers were still ecologically similar enough to [[competitive exclusion|competitively exclude]] one another, and only when the endemic Eyles' harrier became extinct could ''C. approximans'' become established.<ref name="Worthy and Holdaway" /> |
The modern [[swamp harrier]] occurs all over New Zealand today. Even though the bones of its females can be mistaken for those of Eyles's harrier's males (as they differ little except in stoutness), all swamp harrier remains from the islands that have been studied in detail are some 1000 years old at most. That means that they post-date human settlement, i.e. there is no evidence for widespread coexistence of swamp and Eyles' harriers on New Zealand. Apparently, despite their considerable differences, the two harriers were still ecologically similar<ref name=":0" /> enough to [[competitive exclusion|competitively exclude]] one another, and only when the endemic Eyles' harrier became extinct could ''C. approximans'' become established.<ref name="Worthy and Holdaway" /> |
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==References==<!-- BulletinOfTheBritishOrnithologistsClub126:69. --> |
==References==<!-- BulletinOfTheBritishOrnithologistsClub126:69. --> |
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*[http://www.wingspan.co.nz/extinct_birds_of_prey_new_zealand_eyles_harrier.html Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust] |
*[http://www.wingspan.co.nz/extinct_birds_of_prey_new_zealand_eyles_harrier.html Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust] |
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*[http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/eyles-harrier Zealand Birds Online] |
*[http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/eyles-harrier Zealand Birds Online] |
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*[https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/710937 Forbes' Harrier. Circus teauteensis. From the series: Extinct Birds of New Zealand., Te Papa's collections Online (2006-0010-1/35)] |
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{{Birds of New Zealand}} |
{{Birds of New Zealand}} |
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Latest revision as of 13:34, 8 November 2024
| Eyles's harrier Temporal range: Pleistocene-Holocene
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|---|---|
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| Eyles's harrier skull held at Te Papa, Wellington | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Circus |
| Species: | †C. teauteensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Circus teauteensis Forbes, 1892
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| Synonyms | |
|
Circus hamiltoni (nomen nudum) | |
Eyles's harrier (Circus teauteensis) (Māori: Kērangi)[2] is an extinct bird of prey that was endemic to New Zealand.[3][4]
Name
[edit]This species was named after Jim Eyles, paleontologist and former director of the Nelson Provincial Museum and the West Coast Museum.
Description
[edit]It was an example of island gigantism, as an adult female weighed around 2.5 to 3 kg (5.5 to 6.6 lb), over twice as much as a swamp harrier.[5][6] Its shape differed from that of most other harriers, and it was initially mistaken for a huge hawk, possibly a giant Accipiter.
Ecology
[edit]It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small eagle species do: land animals weighing one or a few kilograms. In its hunting strategy, however, it was more adapted to avian prey, as aside from bats, mammals were entirely absent from New Zealand. Presumably, it hunted diurnal birds in a manner similar to goshawks.
Taxonomy
[edit]Eyles' harrier was presumably somewhat similar to the living spotted harrier, its closest living relative, from which it diverged around 2.4 million years ago.[7]
The nomenclature and taxonomy of C. teauteensis are quite convoluted. As Circus eylesi, it was only described in the mid-20th century, from remains found in Pyramid Valley in the South Island of New Zealand. However, essentially identical bones had been found about 100 years earlier by Augustus Hamilton and discussed subsequently by Henry Ogg Forbes; this material probably comes from the Te Aute region in the North Island. Forbes gave it the names Circus hamiltoni and Circus teauteensis, but since it seems no holotype was ever formally named nor can be deduced from the minimal description; these names are generally considered nomina nuda. C. teauteensis is considered valid, based on the argument that as with many New Zealand birds, it is reasonable to assume that North and South Island populations were at least distinct subspecies, if not species. But even though Kálmán Lambrecht mentioned a putative holotype tibiotarsus (which still exists in the BMNH) he explicitly stated that Forbes' names were both invalid. In addition, harrier bones of comparatively recent age in the collection of Walter Mantell, assigned to C. gouldi (an obsolete name of C. approximans) by Richard Lydekker, seem to be of a more robust bird judging from the published descriptions; this material may now be lost, but all things considered it is not unlikely to be the first remains of Eyles' harrier known to science.[8]
Extinction
[edit]The modern swamp harrier occurs all over New Zealand today. Even though the bones of its females can be mistaken for those of Eyles's harrier's males (as they differ little except in stoutness), all swamp harrier remains from the islands that have been studied in detail are some 1000 years old at most. That means that they post-date human settlement, i.e. there is no evidence for widespread coexistence of swamp and Eyles' harriers on New Zealand. Apparently, despite their considerable differences, the two harriers were still ecologically similar[4] enough to competitively exclude one another, and only when the endemic Eyles' harrier became extinct could C. approximans become established.[8]
References
[edit]
- ^ "Circus teauteensis. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Eyles' harrier | Kērangi | New Zealand Birds Online". nzbirdsonline.org.nz. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ "Eyles' harrier | New Zealand Birds Online". www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
- ^ a b Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2007). Extinct birds of new zealand (Reprint ed.). Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8.
- ^ Holdaway, R. N. (1989). New Zealand’s pre-human avifauna and its vulnerability. New Zealand journal of ecology, 12(supplement), 11-25.
- ^ Holdaway, Richard N.; Worthy, Trevor H. (1997). "A reappraisal of the late Quaternary fossil vertebrates of Pyramid Valley Swamp, North Canterbury, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 24 (1): 69–121. doi:10.1080/03014223.1997.9518107. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ Knapp, Michael; Thomas, Jessica E.; Haile, James; Prost, Stefan; Ho, Simon Y.W.; Dussex, Nicolas; Cameron-Christie, Sophia; Kardailsky, Olga; Barnett, Ross; Bunce, Michael; Gilbert, M. Thomas P. (May 2019). "Mitogenomic evidence of close relationships between New Zealand's extinct giant raptors and small-sized Australian sister-taxa". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 134: 122–128. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2019.01.026. PMID 30753886. S2CID 73420145.
- ^ a b Worthy, T. H. and R. N. Holdaway. (2002): The lost world of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. ISBN 0-253-34034-9
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Circus eylesi.
- Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust
- Zealand Birds Online
- Forbes' Harrier. Circus teauteensis. From the series: Extinct Birds of New Zealand., Te Papa's collections Online (2006-0010-1/35)
