Marquesas cuckoo-dove

Marquesas cuckoo-dove
Temporal range: Late Holocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Columbiformes
Family:Columbidae
Genus:Macropygia
Species: M. heana
Binomial name
Macropygia heana

The Marquesas cuckoo-dove (Macropygia heana), also referred to as the Marquesan cuckoo-dove, is an extinct species of bird in the pigeon family. It was endemic to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. It was described from subfossil bones recovered from the Hane archaeological site on the island of Ua Huka. The cuckoo-dove was a relatively large species, with long legs; its limb proportions suggesting a more terrestrial lifestyle than its congeners. The dove's extinction occurred either upon or shortly after the colonisation of the islands by ancient Polynesians.[2][1]

References

  1. 1 2 Steadman, David W. (1992). "New species of Gallicolumba and Macropygia (Aves: Columbidae) from archeological sites in Polynesia. In: Papers in Avian Paleontology Honoring Pierce Brodkorb, ed Jonathan J. Becker". Science series, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 36: 329–348.
  2. ↑ Hume, Julian P.; & Walters, Michael (2012). Extinct Birds. Poyser Monographs. A&C Black. pp. 143–144. ISBN 9781408158623.


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