The Tongan tooth-billed pigeon (''Didunculus placopedetes''), is an

extinct species This page features lists of extinct species, organisms that have become extinct, either in the wild or completely disappeared from Earth. In actual theoretical practice, a species not definitely located in the wild in the last fifty years of cur ...

of pigeon that was endemic to Tonga that lived in the Quaternary period. A related species, the tooth-billed pigeon (''Didunculus strigirostris''), is the only known living species in its genus.

Discription

The Tongan tooth-billed pigeon is described as looking similar to its relative, the tooth-billed pigeon, although it was larger. The Tongan tooth-billed pigeon is only defined by

subfossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, Seashell, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects pre ...

found at archaeological sites. A common predator of the Tongan tooth-billed pigeon was the

Barn Owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

(T. a. lulu). It was about 31 to 38 centimetres long and weighed about 400 grams. with a short tail and a curved beak.

Distribution and habitat

It was located on the Tongan islands of Tongatapu,

Lifuka Lifuka is an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located within the Ha'apai Group, Haapai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa. It is the administrative centre of the Haapai group of ...

, Ha'ano, 'Uiha, and Ha'afeva and lived in terrestrial environments. Its diet consisted of raw fruit of the

Rhus taitensis ''Rhus taitensis'' is a small tree or shrub in the sumac family of plants. It is found from tropical Asia, to Australia and many islands of the Pacific ocean. The chemical tetrahydroxysqualene from dried and ground parts of ''R. taitensis'' ...

. It also ate seeds from Heliconia laufao, nutmegs from the genus Myristica, tuber from species in the genus of

Dioscorea ''Dioscorea'' is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. The vast majority of the species are tropical, with only a few species extending ...

, and berries.

Extinction

The Tongan tooth-billed pigeon disappeared sometime after the colonization of the archipelago by humans, probably due to hunting, loss of habitat, and the influence of introduced invasive species.

References

Didunculus Extinct birds of Oceania {{Columbiformes-stub