The Viti Levu scrubfowl (''Megapodius amissus''), also known as the Fiji scrubfowl or lost megapode, is an extinct

megapode The megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, are stocky, medium-large, chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet in the family Megapodiidae. Their name literally means "large foot" and is a reference to the heavy legs ...

that 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 Fiji. The epithet ''amissus'', from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

"lost", refers to its extinction. Subfossil remains were collected from the Udit cave at Wainibuku on the island of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...

in October 1998 by Trevor Worthy, G. Udy and S. Mataraba, and described by Worthy in 2000. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

is held by the

Museum of New Zealand The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

(reg. no: S.037468).

Description

The megapode was similar in size to, or slightly larger than, the living orange-footed scrubfowl, though it had reduced wings and more robust legs, suggesting that it was flightless or almost flightless. It is likely that it became extinct through overhunting following human settlement of the Fiji Islands.

References

amissus Endemic birds of Fiji Extinct birds of Oceania Birds described in 2000 Holocene extinctions Fossil taxa described in 2000 {{galliformes-stub