North Island snipe
| North Island snipe | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Coenocorypha |
| Species: | †C. barrierensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Coenocorypha barrierensis | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The North Island snipe (Coenocorypha barrierensis), also known as the little barrier snipe or tutukiwi, is an
endemic to New Zealand
.
Taxonomy and etymology
Examination of the taxonomy of Coenocorypha snipe has been hindered by lack of material, erroneous locality data, misidentified specimens and confused nomenclature.type locality.
Distribution and extinction
The North Island snipe is extinct. Its prehistoric distribution comprised the
Pacific rats (Rattus exulans). It survived on at least one small island, Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, until 1870 where the type (and only existing) specimen was taken.[3][5][6] According to Oliver, “About 1870 two snipe were seen on Little Barrier Island by Captain Bennett of the schooner Mary Ann. One was captured alive but died in captivity, the other escaped. The captured specimen was presented to the Auckland Museum by Mr T.B. Hill and is the basis of the following account.”[2]
Description
Oliver described the North Island snipe as being generally similar to other Coenocorypha snipes. He added that it differed from the South Island snipe in the “greater area of buffy white on chin and throat, the absence of bars on the lower abdomen, the crescent-shaped markings on the upper abdomen and the less rufous general coloration”.[2]
References
Notes
Sources
- Baker, Allan J.; Miskelly, Colin M. & Haddrath, Oliver (2009). "Species limits and population differentiation in New Zealand snipes (Scolopacidae: Coenocorypha)". Conservation Genetics. 11 (4): 1363–1374. S2CID 23667784.
- Higgins, P.J.; Davies, S.J.J.F., eds. (1996). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 3:Snipe to Pigeons. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 54–66. ISBN 0-19-553070-5.
- Miskelly, C.M. (1987). "The identity of the Hakawai" (PDF). Notornis. 34 (2): 95–116. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25.
- Oliver, W.R.B. (1955). New Zealand Birds. Wellington: Reed. p. 275. ISBN 0-589-00851-X.
- Worthy, Trevor H.; Miskelly, Colin M.; & Ching, Bob A. (R.). (2002). "Taxonomy of North and South Island snipe (Aves: Scolopacidae: Coenocorypha), with analysis of a remarkable collection of snipe bones from Greymouth, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 29 (3): 231–244. S2CID 84374863.
