Stout-legged Wren
Encyclopedia
The Stout-legged Wren or Yaldwin's Wren (Pachyplichas yaldwyni) is an extinct species of New Zealand wren
, a family
of small birds endemic to New Zealand
.
is a right tarsometatarsus
(NMNZS 22683 in the collections of the National Museum) collected on 29 September 1983 from the Honeycomb Hill Cave
. The specific epithet honours Dr John Yaldwyn, Director of the National Museum of New Zealand
in Wellington
, in recognition of his contributions to avian
palaeontology.
s. The morphology
of the wren indicates that it was strongly adapted to a terrestrial
existence. Radiocarbon dates
for the assemblages with which it is associated range from 25,000 BP
to 1,000 BP. Either flightless
or nearly so, it became extinct
following the occupation of New Zealand by the Polynesian
ancestors of the Māori, and the associated introduction of the kiore.
remains of the wren have only been found on New Zealand's South Island
, and it seems to have formed a species pair with the closely related P. jagmi
, which was only found on North Island
. Since it has been found in association with four other species of acanthisittids in four genera (at the Honeycomb Hill Cave site) it is likely that its ecological niche
was different enough for it to have coexisted with them. Sites where it was found indicate that it inhabited lowland mixed podocarp
broadleaf forest
, ranging upwards into alpine
scrubland.
New Zealand wren
The New Zealand wrens, Acanthisittidae, are a family of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by six known species in four or five genera, although only two species survive in two genera today...
, a family
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...
of small birds endemic to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
History and etymology
The holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
is a right tarsometatarsus
Tarsometatarsus
The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is found in the lower leg of certain tetrapods, namely birds.It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsal and metatarsal bones...
(NMNZS 22683 in the collections of the National Museum) collected on 29 September 1983 from the Honeycomb Hill Cave
Honeycomb Hill Cave
Honeycomb Hill Cave is in the South Island of New Zealand.The Oparara River flows though a section of the cave.The cave was discovered in 1976 by the Buller Caving Group. Since then, 14km of passages have been mapped, and several important deposits of moa bones have been discovered in the caves...
. The specific epithet honours Dr John Yaldwyn, Director of the National Museum of New Zealand
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, in recognition of his contributions to avian
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
palaeontology.
Description
It was the largest (by weight) of the New Zealand WrenNew Zealand wren
The New Zealand wrens, Acanthisittidae, are a family of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by six known species in four or five genera, although only two species survive in two genera today...
s. The morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
of the wren indicates that it was strongly adapted to a terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
existence. Radiocarbon dates
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
for the assemblages with which it is associated range from 25,000 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
to 1,000 BP. Either flightless
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors. There are about forty species in existence today, the best known being the ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea, kiwi, and penguin...
or nearly so, it became extinct
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...
following the occupation of New Zealand by the Polynesian
Polynesians
The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...
ancestors of the Māori, and the associated introduction of the kiore.
Distribution and habitat
The subfossilSubfossil
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 of the wren have only been found on New Zealand's South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, and it seems to have formed a species pair with the closely related P. jagmi
Pachyplichas jagmi
Pachyplichas jagmi is an extinct species of New Zealand wren, a family of small birds endemic to New Zealand.-History and etymology:The holotype is a right tarsometatarsus collected on 25 August 1978 from the Ruakuri Cave in the Waitomo District of the North Island of New Zealand...
, which was only found on North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
. Since it has been found in association with four other species of acanthisittids in four genera (at the Honeycomb Hill Cave site) it is likely that its ecological niche
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...
was different enough for it to have coexisted with them. Sites where it was found indicate that it inhabited lowland mixed podocarp
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized....
broadleaf forest
Broadleaf forest
Broadleaf forest can refer to:* Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests* Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests* Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests...
, ranging upwards into alpine
Alpine
The term alpine refers to the Alps, a European mountain range.Alpine may also refer to:- Geography and geology :* Alpine tundra, the biological community that occurs above the tree line at high altitude...
scrubland.
External links
- Holotype of Pachyplichas yaldwyni from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- Stout-legged Wren, Pachyplichas yaldwyni, by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006