Tag: Island endemic

Haast eagle attacks moas
A Haast's eagle attacks already extinct New Zealand moas. The largest moas were the female South Island giant moas. They could reach a weight of up to 300 kilograms. (© John Megahan, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)

Haast’s Eagle

The largest bird of prey in modern times Before humans settled New Zealand about 700 years ago and introduced invasive species like cats and rats, there were no land-dwelling mammals on the islands – aside from three species of bats. Instead, the ecosystem was dominated by approximately 250 bird species.

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Mecodema oconnori, verwandter des stephens-island-laufkäfer
Images of the Stephens Island Weevil are rare; the picture shows the ground beetle Mecodema oconnori, which belongs to the same genus. (© S.E. Thorpe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Stephens Island Weevil

From isolated paradise to endangered habitat Stephens Island, a small rocky island in the Cook Strait, is renowned for its unique wildlife. Despite covering only 1.5 square kilometers, the island boasts a remarkable ecosystem that was once home to numerous endemic species, including many land and seabirds. Among its notable

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traversia lyalli
The flightless Lyall's wren was a relatively small bird, with a total length of about ten centimeters. (© Avenue, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons)

Lyall’s wren

The tragic story of Lyall’s wren Like the dodo, Lyall’s wren is one of the best-known examples of the extinction of bird species, because the circumstances of its disappearance are as striking as they are tragic. The story of Lyall’s wren is often told with dramatic simplicity: a cat, brought

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tasmanischer beutelwolf Thylacinus cynocephalus
Male and female thylacine, photographed around 1904 at the Washington, D.C., National Zoo. Between 1850 and 1936, 68 thylacines are documented to have lived in zoos. (© Baker; E.J. Keller., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Thylacine

Tasmanian wolf or Tasmanian tiger: Neither wolf nor tiger Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman, who in 1642 was the first European to reach the island of Tasmania, reported “footprints, not unlike the claws of a tiger”. In doing so he had discovered the island’s top predator, which later became known under

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Mussauraupenfänger nach 44 Jahren wiederentdeckt
The Mussau caterpillarcatcher, considered missing since 1979, was rediscovered in June 2024 on the island of Mussau in Papua New Guinea. (© Photo by Joshua Bergmark/Ornis Birding Expeditions)

Mussau Triller: Lost Bird Species Rediscovered After 44 Years

The Mussau triller (Lalage conjuncta), last documented in 1979, was rediscovered in June of this year by Australian bird photographer Joshua Bergmark during a tour with a group of birdwatchers. This songbird species, part of the cuckooshrike family, is endemic to Mussau Island, located in the Bismarck Archipelago north of

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Hokkaido-Wolf Canis lupus hattai
The Hokkaido wolf, one of two wolf subspecies that went extinct in Japan, was captured in this illustration by the English zoologist St. George Mivart in 1890. (© Mivart, St. George Jackson (30 November 1827 – 1 April 1900), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hokkaidō Wolf

Harmful animals in Hokkaido In Japanese mythology, both the extinct Honshu wolf and the Hokkaido wolf, also known as the Ezo wolf, are revered as benevolent beings. One legend, similar to the Roman myth of Romulus and Remus, recounts that a son of Fujiwara no Hidehira, a 12th-century Japanese noble

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Georg Forster: Image of the Tongatapu rail?
An illustration of the extinct Tongatapu rail, created between 1772 and 1775, by Georg Forster? (© George Forster, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Tongatapu rail

The only specimen is now lost Quite a few bird species of the past were described from only a single specimen that is now lost. One of them is the Tongatapu rail. Of this rail species (family Rallidae), historical reports and descriptions have survived that are based on observations and

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Jagd auf Moas
New Zealand’s unique bird life evolved in isolation over millions of years. The image, created at the end of the 19th century, shows a hunting scene of moas. (© Joseph Smit, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

In the Footsteps of Moas: Where New Zealand’s Flightless Birds Find Refuge

The settlement of the Pacific Islands by humans led to rapid waves of extinction for many animal species, whose dynamics are difficult to reconstruct. Among the affected species were the wingless moas, which were only found in New Zealand. These often massive birds went extinct in the 14th or 15th

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Tonga-Skink (Tachygyia microlepis)
The Tonga ground skink is known from only two specimens collected on Tongatapu in the early 19th century. The species reached a snout–vent length of almost 18 centimeters, plus tail. (© Journal, German & Ineich, Ivan & Böhme, Wolfgang. (2024). Was it premature to declare the giant Tongan Ground Skink Tachygyia microlepis extinct?. Salamandra. 60. 82-93.)

Tongan Ground Skink

From the South Pacific to the museum—the last Tongan ground skinks The Tongan ground skink, a giant lizard, is known only from two specimens that are now housed in the Natural History Museum of Paris. The French doctors and naturalists Jean-René-Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard collected the two animals

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Mücken in Hawaii zur Rettung des Hawaii-Sichelkleidervogels Hemignathus munroi
The ʻiʻiwi is among the species in Hawaii threatened by avian malaria, to which they have no natural immunity. The IUCN classifies the ʻiʻiwi as “endangered”. (© Photographer: Carter Atkinson, U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Saving the Last Honeycreepers: Millions of Mosquitoes in Hawaii to Prevent Extinction

For the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, the ʻula-ʻai-hāwane, and the black mamo, any help comes too late, but the still existing honeycreepers (Drepanidini) and numerous other bird species on the Hawaiian Islands can still be saved. An unusual measure could now secure the survival of the endangered species. The problem: Avian malaria

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