Giant Hoopoe
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| Upupa antaios (Olson, 1975) |
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Upupa antaois (lapsus) |
The Giant Hoopoe (Upupa antaios), also known as St. Helena Giant Hoopoe or St. Helena Hoopoe is an extinct bird from the family of Hoopoes (Upupidae).
It was endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Due to its subfossil bones it is considered that it was much larger than its European and African relatives. In addition it was completely flightless. The incomplete skeleton which was found in 1975 by palaeontologist Storrs Olson consists of both coracoids and the left femur. The reasons for its extinction remained unknown. It became presumedly extinct soon after its discovery in 1502 and it became apparently a victim by invasive species and by overhunting.
It fed possibly on St. Helena earwigs, an insect which is probably extinct too.
[edit] References
- Storrs L. Olson, Paleornithology of St. Helena Island, south Atlantic Ocean, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 23 (1975)
[edit] External links
- BirdLife International (2004). Upupa antaios. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 4 November 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as extinct
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