Hoopoe-billed ʻakialoa

The hoopoe-billed ʻakialoa (Akialoa upupirostris) is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It inhabited the islands of Kauaʻi and Oʻahu in Hawaii.

Hoopoe-billed ʻakialoa
Temporal range: Early Holocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Akialoa
Species:
A. upupirostris
Binomial name
Akialoa upupirostris
(Olson & James, 1991)[1]
Synonyms

Hemignathus upupirostris

Description

Subfossil remains have been found on the Hawaiian islands of Kauaʻi and Oʻahu. The species was apparently slightly larger than others in the genus Akialoa. A similar but smaller bird from Maui has been discovered but is as yet undescribed.[2]

The specific name, upupirostris, is derived from the Latin upupa, hoopoe, and rostrum, bill, and refers to the long sickle-shaped bill which resembles that of the hoopoe.[2]

Extinction

The species presumably became extinct after the arrival of humans in Hawaii and is known only from the fossil record.[2]

References

  1. James, Helen F.; Olson, Storrs L (1991). "Descriptions of Thirty-Two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes". Ornithological Monographs. American Ornithologists' Union. 46 (46): 39–43. doi:10.2307/40166713. JSTOR 40166713.
  2. Pratt, H. Douglas (2005). The Hawaiian honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Bird Families of the World. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-19-854653-5.
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