TheSaint Helena hoopoe(Upupa antaios), also known as theSaint Helena giant hoopoeorgiant hoopoe,is an extinct species ofhoopoe(family Upupidae) known exclusively from an incompletesubfossilskeleton.Once endemic to the island ofSaint Helena,it was last seen around 1550, likely driven to extinction by various aspects of human activity.
| Saint Helena hoopoe Temporal range:Holocene
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Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Bucerotiformes |
| Family: | Upupidae |
| Genus: | Upupa |
| Species: | †U. antaios
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| Binomial name | |
| †Upupa antaios Olson,1975
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| Location ofSaint Helena | |
| Synonyms | |
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Upupa antaois(lapsus) | |
Description
editThe Saint Helena hoopoe was a large bird, with heavier and more robust skull and leg elements than the Eurasion or common hoopoe (Upupa epops), of which it is a likely descendant.[2]In opposition, the distal wing bones were much smaller than those of modern hoopoes. This and other clues indicate that it was almost certainly flightless. A height cannot be estimated based upon the incomplete skeleton; however, a likely weight range of 101–145 grams has been posited, using several skeletal aspects from the chest region comparable to the common hoopoe (which weighs 46–89 grams).[3]Coloration and markings are unknown, but anatomical similarities to modern hoopoe species potentially suggest a visual resemblance.
Ecology
editBefore its extinction, the Saint Helena hoopoe was endemic to the island ofSaint Helenain the southernAtlantic Ocean,hence its name.[4]When it was still extant, the areas in which it lived were likely scrubwoods, consisting of a desert environment with shrub-adjacent plant life; in fact, the presence of its remains in the region serves as evidence for such an environment in the past, given that hoopoes in general occupy grasslands and open woodlands.[5]In such an environment, the Saint Helena hoopoe could have been a predator of theSaint Helena earwig(Labidura herculeana),which is also extinct.[2]Otherwise, assumptions can be made that the Saint Helena hoopoe was similar to extant species, but little else is known.[1]
Other extinct endemic birds of Saint Helena include theSaint Helena rail,theSaint Helena crake,theSaint Helena dove,and theSaint Helena cuckoo.[6](Of these, the dove was also likely flightless.)[3]The extinct seabirds of Saint Helena include theSaint Helena bulweria,theSaint Helena petrel,and theSaint Helena shearwater.[6]No extant species of hoopoe is present on Saint Helena.
Extinction
editThe extinction of the Saint Helena hoopoe is directly attributable to the effects of colonization, including the introduction of predators like rats and cats,[2]as well as being hunted by humans.[7]The Saint Helena hoopoe was a flightless bird, and so would have had few avenues of escape when confronted by unfamiliar predators.[5]Habitat destruction also played a part.[8]Given the various pressures facing the species, it was not likely to have survived for long past the discovery of Saint Helena island in 1502; its final recorded sighting was in 1550, though it may have lasted into 1640.[1][5][9]
Taxonomy
editThe family Upupidae contains only a single genus,Upupa,with three living species. The common hoopoe,Upupa epops,is the closest living relative of the Saint Helena hoopoe.[8]The Saint Helena hoopoe is the only extinct species of hoopoe to have been identified;[10]another extinct congener was once recognized from Europe,Upupa phoeniculides,[11]but the features thought to differentiate it from modern hoopoes were found not to indicate speciation but instead whether a population was from Europe or Africa.[12][13]
Etymology and nomenclature
editThe Saint Helena hoopoe has only ever gone by the scientific nameUpupa antaios,and has no known synonyms.[14]The name "antaios" is a reference to Greek mythology; the wrestlerAntaioswas a son ofGaia,and could only maintain his strength when in contact with the ground.Storrs L. Olson,who described the Saint Helena hoopoe, drew parallels between the new species and the wrestler – "likewise a giant of its kind and as necessarily committed to the earth".[3]
Common names for the Saint Helena hoopoe in various languages remark upon either its size or its origin. "Abubilla gigante" (Cebuano) and Kæmpehærfugl (Danish) both mean "giant hoopoe"; "huppe de Sainte-hélène" (French) and "Sankt Helena härfågel" (Swedish) both mean "Saint Helena hoopoe".[15]
History
edit
The first evidence of this species was discovered in 1963 by the British zoologistPhilip Ashmolein the Dry Gut sediments east of Saint Helena. Ashmole found a lefthumerus,but assumed it to be of a common hoopoe, due to remarkable similarities to known hoopoe species. However, further research in 1975 by American paleontologistStorrs L. Olsonunearthed more remains, includingcoracoids,skull elements, and the leftfemur,which prompted a reexamination of the older evidence and the nomination of a new species.[3]
The British Museum of Natural History, as of 1977, was in possession of at least one femur from a Saint Helena hoopoe, slightly larger than Olson described in the nominal paper.[16]
References
edit- ^abcBirdLife International (2016)."Upupa antaios".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2016:e.T22728670A94993541.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22728670A94993541.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^abc Julian P. Hume (2017).Extinct Birds.Christopher Helm. pp. 241–242.ISBN9781472937469.Retrieved2022-08-20.
- ^abcdOlson, Storrs L. (1975)."Paleornithology of St. Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean".Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology(23): 1–49.doi:10.5479/si.00810266.23.1.
- ^McCulloch, Neil (2004).A guide to the birds of St Helena and Ascension Island.Sandy, Bedfordshire: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.ISBN9781901930467.
- ^abcLewis, Colin A. (October 2008). "The Late Glacial and Holocene avifauna of the island of St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean".Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa.63(2): 128–144.Bibcode:2008TRSSA..63..128L.doi:10.1080/00359190809519217.S2CID84064599.
- ^abKirwan, Guy M. (March 1999)."Review: The Birds of St. Helena: an Annotated Checklist".Bulletin of the African Bird Club.6(1): 69.Retrieved26 August2023– via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ^"Saint Helena Hoopoe (Upupa antaios) - BirdLife species factsheet".datazone.birdlife.org.Bird Life International.Retrieved9 May2023.
- ^abMurray, Adam (24 November 2011)."How Many Hoopoes?".community.rspb.org.uk.Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Community.Retrieved9 May2023.
- ^"Upupa antaios (Saint Helena hoopoe)".paleobiodb.org.Paleobiology Database.Retrieved9 May2023.
- ^Taxonomy of the birds of the world: The complete checklist of all bird species and subspecies of the world.BoD – Books on Demand. 30 October 2018. p. 157.ISBN978-3-7481-6560-6.Retrieved9 May2023.
- ^Jeño, Kessler (2010)."Új eredmények a Kárpát-medence neogén és negyedidőszaki madárvilágához III"[New results for the Neogene and Quaternary avifauna of the Carpathian Basin, part III].Földtani Közlöny(in Hungarian).140(1): 62.Retrieved26 August2023.
- ^Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile (2004-04-01)."Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe"(PDF).The Auk.121(2): 623–627.doi:10.1093/auk/121.2.623.ISSN1938-4254.
- ^Mlíkovský, Jiří (2009)."Middle Pleistocene birds of Hundsheim, Austria"(PDF).Journal of the National Museum (Prague).177(7): 73.Retrieved26 August2023.
- ^"St. Helena HoopoeUpupa antaios".Avibase.
- ^Upupa antaios ✝,Mindat.org,retrieved26 August2023
- ^Walker, C.A. (16 June 1977)."The Rediscovery of the Blofield and the Wilkes Collections of Sub-fossil Birds from St. Helena".Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.97:114–115.Retrieved26 August2023– via Biodiversity Heritage Library.