The New Caledonian ground dove (''Pampusana longitarsus'') is a large, extinct species of ''

Pampusana ''Pampusana'' is a mid-sized genus of ground-dwelling doves ( family Columbidae) which occur in rainforests in the Pacific region. They are not closely related to the American ground doves ( genus ''Columbina'' and related genera). Systematic ...

'' ground dove in the

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, and the largest member of its genus. It was

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 else ...

to the island of New Caledonia in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

in the south-west

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

region. It was described from subfossil bones found at the Pindai Caves paleontological site on the west coast of Grande Terre. The specific epithet refers to the slender and elongated tarsometatarsus, or lower leg bone, of the species.

References

Pampusana Extinct birds of New Caledonia Holocene extinctions Birds described in 1989 Taxa named by Jean-Christophe Balouet {{columbiformes-stub