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Polynesian Sandpiper
The Polynesian sandpipers form the genus ''Prosobonia''. They are small wading birds confined to remote Pacific islands of French Polynesia. Only one species is now extant, and it is rare and little known. This bird is sometimes separated in the genus ''Aechmorhynchus'', restricting the genus to the extinct southern forms. Taxonomy The genus ''Prosobonia'' was introduced in 1850 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte with the Tahiti sandpiper, as the type species. Bonaparte did not explain the etymology of the genus name but it is probably from the Ancient Greek ''prosōpon'' meaning "mask" or "face". The International Ornithologists' Union lists four species in the genus. Of these three have become extinct in historical times. * Tuamotu sandpiper, ''P. parvirostris'' * † Kiritimati sandpiper, ''P. cancellata'' * † Tahiti sandpiper, ''P. leucoptera'' * † Moorea sandpiper, ''P. ellisi'' An additional species was described in 2020 from subfossil remains. * � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosobonia Leucoptera
The Tahiti sandpiper or Tahitian Sandpiper (''Prosobonia leucoptera'') is an extinct member of the large wader family Scolopacidae that was endemic to Tahiti in French Polynesia until its extinction sometime before 1819. It was discovered in 1773 during Captain Cook's second voyage, when a single specimen seems to have been collected, but it became extinct in the nineteenth century. Only one museum specimen is known to exist, held in the Aves collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The bird's name in the Tahitian language was transcribed as ''toromē''. Taxonomy The Tahiti sandpiper was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's '' Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other sandpipers in the genus ''Tringa'' and coined the binomial name ''Tringa leucoptera''. Gmelin based his description on the "white-winged sandpiper" that had been described and illustrated in 1785 by the Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henderson Sandpiper
The Henderson sandpiper (''Prosobonia sauli'') is a small extinct Polynesian sandpiper shorebird first described in 2020. It was described from subfossil remains found in 1991 and 1992 on Henderson Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands. It went extinct no earlier than the eleventh century (1000s), soon after humans arrived on Henderson Island. It is possible that these humans brought with them the Polynesian rat The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, ..., which Polynesian sandpiper populations are very vulnerable to, causing the animal to go extinct. References Extinct birds of Oceania Prosobonia Birds of Henderson Island Holocene extinctions {{charadriiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Polynesia
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calidris
''Calidris'' is a genus of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds in the family Scolopacidae. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. They are the typical "sandpipers", small to medium-sized, long-winged and relatively short-billed. Their bills have sensitive tips which contain numerous corpuscles of Herbst. This enables the birds to locate buried prey items, which they typically seek with restless running and probing. Taxonomy The genus ''Calidris'' was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem with the red knot as the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The genus contain 24 species: * Great knot, ''Calidris tenuirostris'' * Red knot, ''Calidris canutus'' * Surfbird, ''Calidris virgata'' * Ruff, ''Calidris pugnax'' * Broad-billed sandpiper, ''Calidris falcinellus'' * Sharp-tailed sandpiper, ''Calidris ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turnstone
Turnstones are two bird species that comprise the genus ''Arenaria'' in the family Scolopacidae. They are closely related to calidrid sandpipers and might be considered members of the tribe Calidriini. The genus ''Arenaria'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') as the type species. The genus name ''arenaria'' is from Latin ''arenarius'', "inhabiting sand", from ''arena'', "sand". The genus contains two species: the ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') and the black turnstone (''Arenaria melanocephala''). Both birds are waders. Their length is typically between 20 and 25 cm, with a wingspan between 50 and 60 cm and a body mass between 110 and 130g. For waders their build is stocky, with short, slightly upturned, wedge shaped bills. They have white patches on the back, wings and tail. They are high Arctic breeders, and are migratory. Their strong necks and powerful, slightly uptur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four islands—Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno—are scattered across several hundred miles of ocean and have a combined land area of about . Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The islands nearest to the Pitcairn Islands are Mangareva (of French Polynesia) at 688 km to the west and Easter Island at 1,929 km to the east. The Pitcairn Islanders are a biracial ethnic group descended mostly from nine ''Bounty'' mutineers and a handful of Tahitian consorts—as is still apparent from the surnames of many of the islanders. The mutiny and its aftermath have been the subject of many books and films. As of January 2020, the territory had only 47 permanent inhabitants. History Polyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henderson Island (Pitcairn Islands)
Henderson Island (formerly also San Juan Bautista and Elizabeth Island) is an uninhabited island in the south Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Pitcairn Island Group, together with Pitcairn, Oeno, and Ducie Islands. Measuring , it has an area of and is located northeast of Pitcairn Island. It has poor soil and little fresh water, and is unsuitable for agriculture. There are three beaches on the northern end and the remaining coast comprises steep (mostly undercut) cliffs up to in height. In 1902, it was annexed to the Pitcairn Islands colony, which is now a British Overseas Territory. Henderson is one of the last two raised coral atolls in the world whose ecosystems remain relatively unaffected by human contact, along with Aldabra in the Indian Ocean. In 1988, it was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. Ten of its 51 flowering plants, all four of its land birds and about a third of the identified insects and gastropods are endemic – a remarkable diversi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (french: Mont Oave, links=no) on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level. Archaeological research suggests the islands were colonized in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a "remarkably uniform culture, biology and language". The Marquesas were named after the 16th century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete ( es, Marqués de Cañete, italic=unset) by navigator , who visited them in 1595. The Marquesas Islands constitute one of the five administrative divisions (') of French Polynesia. The capital of the Marquesas Islands' administrative subdivision is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ua Huka
Ua Huka is one of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the northern group of the archipelago, approximately to the east of Nuku Hiva, at . Name Ua Huka is sometimes also found spelled ''Roohka'' or ''Ua Huna''. The first Western navigator to sight the island was U.S. Navy Captain Joseph Ingraham in 1791. He named the island "Washington Island" in honor of U.S. President George Washington, a name which was eventually extended to include all of the northern group of the Marquesas Islands. Other names for the island include ''Riou'' and ''Solide''. ''See also Names of the Marquesas Islands''. The spider genus '' Uahuka'' is named after this island. History Although Ua Huka is located in the northern Marquesas, historically, culturally and linguistically the island's tribes were far more closely aligned with the southern Marquesas Islands, especially with the tribes from Pepane, in the eastern h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangaia
Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily populated, Mangaia's population has dropped by 75% in the last 50 years. Geography Originally known as ''A'ua'u'' or ''A'ua'u Enua'' ("terraced"), the island was named Mangaia (or ''Mangaianui-Neneva'', "Mangaia monstrously-great") by Tamaeu, who came to the island from Aitutaki in 1775. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old. It rises 4750 m (15,600 ft) above the ocean floor and has a land area of 51.8 km2. Surrounded by a fringing coral reef, like many of the southern Cook Islands, it is surrounded by a high ring of cliffs of fossil coral 60 m (200 ft) high, known as the makatea. The inner rim of the ''makatea'' forms a steep cliff, surrounding swamps and a central volcanic plateau. The int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moorea
Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning "yellow lizard": = lizard ; (from ) = yellow. An older name for the island is ', sometimes spelled or (among other spellings that were used by early visitors before Tahitian spelling was standardized). Early Western colonists and voyagers also referred to Moorea as ''York Island'' or ''Santo Domingo''. History Prehistory According to recent archaeological evidence, the Society Islands were probably settled from Samoa and Tonga around 200 CE.Patrick V. Kirch: ''On the Road of the Wind - An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands Before European Contact'', University of California Press, Berkeley-Los Angeles-London 2000 Nine tribal principalities emerged in the enclosed valleys, which in turn were subdivided into individual cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Australia. Divided into two parts, ''Tahiti Nui'' (bigger, northwestern part) and ''Tahiti Iti'' (smaller, southeastern part), the island was formed from volcanic activity; it is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. Its population was 189,517 in 2017, making it by far the most populous island in French Polynesia and accounting for 68.7% of its total population. Tahiti is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity and an overseas country of the French Republic. The capital of French Polynesia, Papeete, is located on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The only international airport in the region, Faaā International Airport, is on Tahiti near Papeete. Tahiti was originally settled by Polyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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