NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Coenocorypha

The Coenocorypha are a genus of tiny birds, also known as the New Zealand snipes, which are found in the Outlying Islands of New Zealand. There are currently two widely accepted extant species, two extinct species and several subspecies, but the taxonomy of the genus is currently under debate and these subspecies have been raised to full species by some authors. One as yet undescribed species or subspecies was discovered off Campbell Island as recently as 1997. The genus once ranged from Fiji and New Caledonia, across New Zealand and down into New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands, but predation by introduced species has drastically declined their range. For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... â€œAvesâ€ redirects here. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ... Look up taxonomy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Campbell Island is a remote, sub-Antarctic island of New Zealand and the main island of the Campbell Island group. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into invasive species. ...

Taxonomy and range

The relationship between the New Zealand snipe and the snipe of the genus Gallinago is uncertain; the Coenocorypha are sometimes thought to be a relict of an ancient lineage,^[1] however insufficient research has been done to prove this. The first specimen, was collected from the Auckland Islands during the voyage of the Erberus and Terror and was described by George Gray in 1845. Ten years later he assigned the species to its own genus. With the exception of the Chatham Island Snipe and the Forbes's Snipe (described from fossils found in the Chatham Islands), all subsequent New Zealand snipe collected were assigned as subspecies to the original species, known as the New Zealand Snipe. Subspecific forms were described from the Snares, Little Barrier Island, Stewart Island and the Antipodes Islands. Genera Coenocorypha Gallinago Lymnocryptes A Snipe is any of nearly 20 very similar wading bird species characterised by a very long slender bill and cryptic plumage. ... This article is about the Snipe Bird. ... The Auckland Islands (50Â°42â€² S 166Â°5â€² E) form a sub-antarctic archipelago of New Zealand. ... HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke Dockyard, Wales in 1826. ... HMS Terror in the Arctic HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. ... George Gray may refer to one of several people: George Gray (Weakest Link host) George Gray (U.S. Senator) George Gray (wrestler) aka One Man Gang George Gray (American diplomat), one of four members of the staff of the United States High Commissioner of the Philippines who prevented the capture... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... The Chatham Islands from space. ... Binomial name Coenocorypha aucklandica (Gray, 1845) The New Zealand Snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica, also known as the Subantarctic Snipe, is a species of snipe endemic to New Zealand. ... The Snares, New Zealand The Snares (also known as Tini Heke and, incorrectly, as Snares Islands) are a small subantarctic island group approximately 200 kilometres south of New Zealands South Island. ... Little Barrier Island lies at the outer edge of the Hauraki Gulf, off the northern coast of New Zealands North Island. ... Stewart Island is the third largest island of New Zealand. ... The position of the Antipodes Islands relative to New Zealand, and other outlying islands. ...

A morphological study and comparisons of plumage and behaviour led some authors to accept that the Snares Islands, Little Barrier Island, Stewart Island were all species instead of subspecies of the Auckland Island form and raised the possibility that the Antipodes Island form might be a separate species.^[2] Closeup on a single white feather A feather is one of the epidermal growths that forms the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird. ... The Snares, New Zealand The Snares (also known as Tini Heke and, incorrectly, as Snares Islands) are a small subantarctic island group approximately 200 kilometres south of New Zealands South Island. ... Little Barrier Island lies at the outer edge of the Hauraki Gulf, off the northern coast of New Zealands North Island. ... Stewart Island is the third largest island of New Zealand. ... Auckland Island is the main island of the Auckland Islands, an uninhabited archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to New Zealand. ... The Antipodes Islands ( or ) are an inhospitable uninhabited island group to the south ofâ€”and territorially part ofâ€”New Zealand. ...

In 1997 a previously unknown form of New Zealand snipe was discovered on Jaquemart Island off Campbell Island.^[3] The Campbell Island Snipe has yet to be formally described scientifically but is considered to be another species in the radiation of New Zealand snipes. Fossil remains of Coenocorypha have also now been discovered on the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji and Norfolk Island.^[4] Fossil evidence has also shown that the Little Barrier Island form was once widespread across North Island and the Stewart Island form across South Island; both species are now extinct. Campbell Island is a remote, sub-Antarctic island of New Zealand and the main island of the Campbell Island group. ... North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... The South Island The South Island is one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ...

Morphology

The Coenocorypha snipes resemble Gallinago snipes, although they much smaller, stockier and have shorter bills.^[5] Overall they have long bills and short necks, wings and tails. They measure between 19-24 cm long, with wingspans of between 28-35 cm, and weigh between 75-120 g. The smallest species is the Chatham Island Snipe. Their plumage is overall brown, most species have a dark eye stripe. The scapulars on the wings are mottled with some species having white tips. This article is about the Snipe Bird. ... The beakâ€”otherwise known as the bill or rostrumâ€”is an external anatomical structure which serves as the mouth in some animals. ... Closeup on a single white feather A feather is one of the epidermal growths that forms the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird. ...

Breeding

The breeding biology of some of the Coenocorypha snipes has been studied in some detail. They are mostly monogamous (although occasionally some males attempt polygamy) and defend territories from other breeding pairs, although non-breeders are tolerated inside territories. Pair formation occurs some months before breeding, and males feed females as part of the courting rituals.^[6] Before breeding New Zealand snipe also participate in aerial displays with calls followed by a non-vocal roar created by diving birds driving fast moving air across the rectrices of the tail.^[7] This display is thought to be the origin of the Māori legends about the or hakawai; the calls are known to scientists by that name as well. The usual clutch size is two eggs, laid three days apart. Incubation duties are shared between the sexes, incubation taking 22 days. Where a male has two females in its territory it will incubate at just one nest, the female at the other has to incubate alone, taking 38 days to hatch chicks. In monogamy (Greek: monos = single/only and gamos = marriage) a person has only one spouse at a time (as opposed to polygamy). ... In ethology, sociobiology and behavioral ecology, the term territory refers to any geographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics (and, occasionally, animals of other species). ... Bird songs are certain vocal sounds that birds makeâ€”in non-technical use, those sounds that are melodious to the human ear. ... Languages MÄori, English Religions MÄori religion, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Polynesian peoples, Austronesian peoples The word MÄori refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand and their language. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ...

After hatching the pair splits, with each member if the pair taking one chick and raising it. Chicks are fed for around 41 days, and stay with the parent for another 20 days after that. The chicks Chatham Island Snipe matures faster than the other species and is only fed for thirty days and becomes independent at 41 days. Parental care in the extinct South Island Snipe is also thought to have been different, with studies conducted in 1923 and 1930 showing that both parents cared for a single chick.^[8] Nothing is known about the parental care of the North Island Snipe, the Forbes's Snipe or the snipes of Fiji, New Caledonia or Norfolk Island. In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ...

Threats and conservation

The Coenocorypha snipes evolved on oceanic islands without land mammals and were ecologically naive to mammalian predators. When humans arrived on the islands they lived on they brought with them Polynesian Rats and later larger more aggressive predators such as Black Rats, Stoats and feral cats. With the arrival of these predators Coenocorypha snipes quickly became extinct, with the species in Fiji, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island becoming extinct in prehistory. Around New Zealand snipes survived on rarely visited offshore islands and on the sub-Antarctic islands. The North Island species survived until the arrival of European settlers, and the last South Island Snipe survived off Stewart Island until 1964, when rats reached Big South Cape Island. The island had also been the last refuge of the Bush Wren and the New Zealand Greater Short-tailed Bat. Attempts were made to capture some snipe (and wrens) for translocation to a safe island, but only two snipe were caught and both died the next day. This article is about evolution in biology. ... Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species... Island tameness is the tendency of many populations and species of animals living on isolated islands to lose their wariness of potential predators, particularly of large animals. ... Binomial name Rattus exulans (Peale, 1848) The Polynesian Rat or Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans), known to the Maori as Kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the Brown Rat and Black Rat. ... Binomial name Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) Black Rat range The Black Rat (Rattus rattus, also known as the Asian black rat, ship rat, roof rat or house rat) is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus (Old World rodents) and the subfamily murinae (murine rodents). ... Binomial name Mustela erminea Linnaeus, 1758 The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae. ... Rescued feral kittens Most feral kittens have little chance of surving more than a few months and are vulnerable to starvation, predators, disease and even flea-induced anemia. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Stewart Island is the third largest island of New Zealand. ... Binomial name Xenicus longipes (Gmelin, 1789) The Bush Wren (Xenicus longipes), or Matuhi in Maori, is a very small and almost flightless bird endemic to New Zealand. ... Species (believed extinct) The New Zealand short-tailed bats are the Mystacinidae family of bats. ...

Today the remaining species are a conservation priority. Techniques to translocate snipe without killing them have been developed, and a small group of Snares Island Snipe have been established again off Stewart Island. ^[9] Campbell Island Snipe have benefited from the removal of rats from Campbell Island in 2001; they have recolonised the main island from Jacquemart Island and begun breeding there again.^[10] Island restoration is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. ...

Species

Binomial name Coenocorypha aucklandica (Gray, 1845) The New Zealand Snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica, also known as the Subantarctic Snipe, is a species of snipe endemic to New Zealand. ...

Notes and references

^ Tennyson, A. & Martinson, P. (2006) Extinct Birds of New Zealand Te Papa Press,Wellington ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8
^ Worthy, T. H., Miskelly, C. M. & Ching, B. A. (2002) "Taxonomy of North and South Island snipe (Aves : Scolopacidae : Coenocorypha), with analysis of a remarkable collection of snipe bones from Greymouth, New Zealand" New Zealand Journal of Zoology 29(3):231-244
^ Barker D, Carroll J, Edmonds H, Fraser J, and Miskelly C (2005) "Discovery of a previously unknown Coenocorypha snipe in the Campbell Island group, New Zealand subantarctic" Notornis 52(3): 143–149 [1]
^ Worthy T.H. (2003) "A New extinct species of snipe Coenocorypha from Viti Levu, Fiji" Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 123: 90-103
^ Higgins, P.J. & J.N. Davies (eds) 1996. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 3: Snipe to Pigeons. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553070-5
^ Miskelly, C (1989) "Breeding systems of the New Zealand Snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica and the Chatham Island Snipe Coenocorypha pusilla; are they food limited?" Ibis 132 366-379
^ Miskelly, C. M. (1987): The identity of the hakawai. Notornis 34(2): 95-116. PDF fulltext
^ Miskelly, C & de Lange, P (2006) "Notes on the breeding ecology of the extinct Stewart Island snipe (Coenocorypha aucklandica iredalei)" Notornis 53(4): 339–352
^ Charteris M & Miskelly C (2005) Snares Island snipe (tutukiwi) translocation to Putauhinu Island, April 2005 DEpartment of Conservation, Wellington ISBN 0-478-22687-X PDF
^ Miskelly C & Fraser J. (2006) Campbell Island snipe (Coenocorypha undescribed sp.) recolonise subantarctic Campbell Island following Rat eradication." Notornis 53(4): 353-359

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