Kingdom Animalia Family Rallidae Phylum Chordata Order Gruiformes | Class Aves Scientific name Vitirallus watlingi Rank Species | |
Genus Vitirallus
T. H. Worthy, 2004 Similar Viti Levu giant pigeon, Great O‘ahu crake, Hova gallinule, ‘Eua rail, Sylviornis neocaledoniae | ||
The Viti Levu rail (Vitirallus watlingi) was a prehistoric flightless bird from Fiji. The Viti Levu rail is thought to have been about the same size as the bar-winged rail (Nesoclopeus poecilopterus) but with a very elongated and slender bill.
The genus name refers to Viti Levu, the island of origin in Fiji; rallus is Latin for rail. The species name watlingi is after the ornithologist Dr Dick Watling.
Remains of this species were discovered in September 1998 at Viti Levu, the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It was first described by Trevor H. Worthy in 2004. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
References
Viti Levu rail Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA