''Rallicola extinctus'' is an extinct species of
phtilopterid
The Philopteridae are a family of Ischnocera, chewing lice mostly parasitic on birds.
The taxonomy and systematics of the group are in need of revision; the Philopteridae are almost certainly paraphyletic.
Genera
Some notable species are al ...
louse
Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result o ...
.
[Palma, R. L. (1999): Amendments and additions to the 1982 list of chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from birds in New Zealand. ''Notornis'' 46(3): 373–387]
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This parasite was only known to live on the now extinct
huia
The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was a credible sighting in 1924.
It ...
and is thought to have become
extinct with its host.
[Mey, Eberhard (1990): Eine neue ausgestorbene Vogel-Ischnozere von Neuseeland, ''Huiacola extinctus'' (Insecta, Phthiraptera). ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' 224(1/2): 49-73. ]PDF_fulltext_It_was_initially_placed_in_its_own_separate_genus,_''Huiacola'',_which_means_"huia_inhabitant"._It_was_endemic_to_New_Zealand.html" "title="erman with English abstract
PDF fulltext It was initially placed in its own separate genus, ''Huiacola'', which means "huia inhabitant". It was endemic to New Zealand">New Zealand's
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country b ...
North Island.
References
External links
Article
containing an image of ''R. extinctus''.
Lice
Insects of New Zealand
Extinct animals of New Zealand
Insects described in 1990
{{louse-stub