Chatham Rail
Encyclopedia
The Chatham Rail is an extinct species of bird
in the Rallidae
family. It was endemic to New Zealand
.
Cabalus modestus was endemic to Chatham, Mangere
and Pitt Islands, New Zealand
. It was first discovered on Mangere in 1871, and 26 specimens collected there are known from museum collections. It became extinct on the island between 1896 and 1900. The species is also known from 19th century bones from Chatham and Pitt Islands. It is likely to have occurred in scrubland and tussock grass.
to provide sheep pasture (which destroyed all of the island's bush and tussock
grass by 1900), and from grazing by goats and rabbits1. On Chatham and Pitt Islands Olson has suggested that its extinction resulted from competition with the larger Dieffenbach's Rail Gallirallus dieffenbachii (also extinct), but the two species have been shown to have been sympatric on Mangere.
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...
in the Rallidae
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
family. It was 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...
.
Cabalus modestus was endemic to Chatham, Mangere
Mangere Island
Mangere Island is part of the Chatham Islands archipelago, located east of New Zealand's South Island and has an area of . The island lies off the west coast of Pitt Island, south-east of the main settlement in the Chathams, Waitangi, on Chatham Island....
and Pitt Islands, 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...
. It was first discovered on Mangere in 1871, and 26 specimens collected there are known from museum collections. It became extinct on the island between 1896 and 1900. The species is also known from 19th century bones from Chatham and Pitt Islands. It is likely to have occurred in scrubland and tussock grass.
Threats
Its extinction was presumably caused by predation by rats and cats (which were introduced in the 1890s), habitat destructionHabitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
to provide sheep pasture (which destroyed all of the island's bush and tussock
Tussock
Tussock most often refers to a small hillock of grassy, or grass-like plant growth, but may also refer to Plants and ecology, Insects.- Plants and ecology :*Tussock *New Zealand tussock grasslands*Serrated Tussock...
grass by 1900), and from grazing by goats and rabbits1. On Chatham and Pitt Islands Olson has suggested that its extinction resulted from competition with the larger Dieffenbach's Rail Gallirallus dieffenbachii (also extinct), but the two species have been shown to have been sympatric on Mangere.