Kingdom Animalia Class Aves Family Rallidae Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Gruiformes Genus Gallirallus | |
Similar Gallirallus, ‘Eua rail, Gruiformes, Forbes's snipe, Chatham duck | ||
The Tubuai rail (Gallirallus steadmani) is an extinct species of flightless bird in the Rallidae, or rail family.
Contents
History
It was described from subfossil remains found in 2007 by Robert Bollt at the Atiahara archaeological site, on the island of Tubuai in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. The site dates to the 13th and 14th centuries CE, from the early period of human habitation of the island.
Etymology
The species was named after David Steadman in recognition of his contributions to Pacific paleo-ornithology and the understanding of the radiation of Gallirallus-like rails.
References
Tubuai rail Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA