Pile-builder Megapode
Encyclopedia
The Pile-builder Megapode (Megapodius molistructor) is an extinct species of megapode. The fossil remains were found by Jean-Christophe Balouet and Storrs L. Olson
in cave
s on New Caledonia
and Tonga
.
culture arrived in Tonga at about 1500 BC they found only marine species like sea turtles and giant forms of terrestrial birds like megapodes, doves, and rails. The hunting of these bird species for food led to their rapid extinction. In New Caledonia
the giant megapode might have survived into historic times. William Anderson
, a naturalist and surgeon's mate at the HMS Resolution
during James Cook
's second South Sea voyage, described a bird from New Caledonia with bare legs which he named Tetrao australis. Considering that all Tetrao
species have feathered legs, Anderson's bird might well have been a megapode.
Storrs L. Olson
Storrs Lovejoy Olson is an American biologist and ornithologist from the Smithsonian Institution. He is one of the world's foremost avian paleontologists....
in cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s on New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
.
Description
With a weight of 3.5 kg, Megapodius molistructor was heavier than all existing megapodes. On Tonga, it was the largest ground-dwelling bird species. The fossil material consists of a left tarsometatarsus, a complete left scapula, a half right scapula, a proximal end left ulna, a fragment of the right femur, several ungual phalanxes, an anterior end right scapula, a proximal end right ulna, a distal helft left ulna, a distal end left ulna proximal and a half right femur.Extinction
When the early settlers of the LapitaLapita
Lapita is a term applied to an ancient Pacific Ocean archaeological culture which is believed by many archaeologists to be the common ancestor of several cultures in Polynesia, Micronesia, and some coastal areas of Melanesia...
culture arrived in Tonga at about 1500 BC they found only marine species like sea turtles and giant forms of terrestrial birds like megapodes, doves, and rails. The hunting of these bird species for food led to their rapid extinction. In New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
the giant megapode might have survived into historic times. William Anderson
William Anderson (naturalist)
William Anderson was a Scottish naturalist, one of seven children of schoolmaster Robert Anderson and Jean...
, a naturalist and surgeon's mate at the HMS Resolution
HMS Resolution (Cook)
HMS Resolution was a sloop of the Royal Navy, and the ship in which Captain James Cook made his second and third voyages of exploration in the Pacific...
during James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's second South Sea voyage, described a bird from New Caledonia with bare legs which he named Tetrao australis. Considering that all Tetrao
Tetrao
Tetrao is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily. It has four species.-Species:* Eurasian Black Grouse, Tetrao tetrix* Caucasian Black Grouse, Tetrao mlokosiewiczi* Western Capercaillie, Tetrao urogallus...
species have feathered legs, Anderson's bird might well have been a megapode.