''Hemignathus'' is a

Hawaiian honeycreeper Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaii. They are closely related to the rosefinches in the genus ''Carpodacus'', but many species have evolved features unlike those present in any other finch. Their great ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the subfamily Carduelinae of the finch family, Fringillidae. These birds are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

Extinctions

Many of its

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

became

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

during the 19th and 20th centuries due to a combination of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, introduced

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s, and most importantly mosquito-borne diseases. One species, the

giant nukupu'u In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from ...

(''Hemignathus vorpalis''), is known only from fossils, and became extinct in prehistoric times when Polynesian settlers

deforested Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

the lowlands for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

Taxonomy

(Sub)Genus ''Hemignathus sensu stricto'' - pointed or long and downcurved bills,

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

s or

nectarivore In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits a ...

s. The Nukupu‘u: *

Giant nukupu‘u In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

, ''Hemignathus vorpalis'' -

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

Maui nukupuʻu The Maui nukupuu (''Hemignathus affinis'') is a species of nukupu‘u Hawaiian honeycreeper that was endemic to the island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. The small, five-inch-long bird lived only in eastern Maui, where it was dependent on hig ...

''Hemignathus affinis'' - probably extinct (late 1990s?) *

Oʻahu nukupuʻu The Oahu nukupuu (''Hemignathus lucidus'') was a species of nukupuu which was similar to its cousins from the Islands of Kauai and Maui. It is yellowish greyish with a long hooked beak to find insects. This bird is now extinct due to human act ...

''Hemignathus lucidus'' - extinct (1837) *

Kauaʻi nukupuʻu The Kauai nukupuu (''Hemignathus hanapepe'') was a species of nukupuʻu once found throughout parts of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It was an insect eater that picked out its tiny prey from tree bark. The males were yellowish with brown wings, ...

''Hemignathus hanapepe'' - probably extinct (late 1900s?) (Sub)Genus ''Heterorhynchus'' - long and downcurved upper and short and stout lower bill, probes for insects *

ʻAkiapolaʻau The akiapōlāau (''Hemignathus wilsoni''), pronounced ''ah-kee-ah-POH-LAH-OW'', is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper that is endemic to the island of Hawaii. Its natural habitats are dry and montane moist forests, and the only bird species on ...

, ''Heterorhynchus wilsoni''

Extinctions

Taxonomy

See also