Stout-legged Finch
Encyclopedia
The Stout-legged Finch (Ciridops tenax) is an extinct
species of finch
in the Hawaiian honeycreeper
subfamily
, Drepanidinae. Subfossil
remains have only been found on the island of Kauai
and indicate that it survived up until the late Quaternary
period.
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
species of finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
in the Hawaiian honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreepers are small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaii. Some authorities still categorize this group as a family Drepanididae, but in recent years, most authorities consider them a subfamily, Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family...
subfamily
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Drepanidinae. Subfossil
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
remains have only been found on the island of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
and indicate that it survived up until the late Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period.
Further reading
- H. Douglas Pratt, Jack Jeffrey: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers Oxford University Press, 2005 ISBN 019854653X
- Scott B Wilson & Arthur Humble Evans: Aves Hawaiienses: The Birds of the Sandwich Islands. 1890-99. R. H. Porter, London (Reprint: Ayer Publishing, 1974 ISBN 0405057717)