Megacrex inepta

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	GRUIFORMES	RALLIDAE

Scientific Name:

Megacrex inepta

Species Authority:

d'Albertis & Salvadori, 1879

Common Name/s:

English

–

New Guinea Flightless Rail, Papuan Flightless Rail

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Mahood, S., Butchart, S.

Contributor/s:

Gregory, P., Bishop, K., Leary, T.

Justification:
This enigmatic species is known from very few records over a wide range, and, although it is thought to be more abundant than data would indicate, it probably has a moderately small population, which is declining owing to hunting and habitat degradation. It consequently qualifies as Near Threatened.

History:

2004	–	Near Threatened
1996	–	Data Deficient
1994	–	Data Deficient

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Megacrex inepta is endemic to the lowlands of central New Guinea (Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). There are very few records, but it is reported to be locally common, especially where sago is harvested^3,7. Its population size is unknown, but it appears to be small. There is no evidence of a significant decline.
Countries:	Native: Indonesia; Papua New Guinea
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It inhabits lowland forest, especially wet thickets, swamp forest and mangroves.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Although flightless, it appears to be able to fight off attacks from dogs and to climb into trees to escape predators^2,6. It is hunted in some areas, sometimes targeted specifically with sago lures, and it may be affected by feral pigs. Lowland forests across its range are under pressure from logging^1,3,4,5,7.

Major Threat(s):

Although flightless, it appears to be able to fight off attacks from dogs and to climb into trees to escape predators^2,6. It is hunted in some areas, sometimes targeted specifically with sago lures, and it may be affected by feral pigs. Lowland forests across its range are under pressure from logging^1,3,4,5,7.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway None is known. Conservation Actions Proposed Conduct field surveys and interviews in villages to better understand its distribution, population density and threats. Use awareness programmes to discourage hunting. Effectively protect large areas of lowland rainforest.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
None is known.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct field surveys and interviews in villages to better understand its distribution, population density and threats. Use awareness programmes to discourage hunting. Effectively protect large areas of lowland rainforest.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2008. Megacrex inepta. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012.
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