Porzana palmeri

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	GRUIFORMES	RALLIDAE

Scientific Name:

Porzana palmeri

Species Authority:

(Frohawk, 1892)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Laysan Crake, Laysan Rail

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Extinct ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species was found in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, USA, but is now Extinct. The last population on Eastern Island was exterminated by introduced rats in 1944.

History:

2008	–	Extinct
2004	–	Extinct
2000	–	Extinct
1994	–	Extinct
1988	–	Extinct

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Porzana palmeri was found on Laysan Island, Hawai'i, USA (Baldwin 1947), from where it became extinct between 1923 and 1936 (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). A similar bird was also seen by Kittlitz on nearby Lisianski Island (Baldwin 1947). Birds were introduced to Pearl and Hermes Reef and to Eastern Island in the Midway Atoll in 1891 and 1913, and from there to Sand Island in 1910, with failed re-introductions also reportedly attempted to Lisianski, Laysan and to the main Hawaiian group (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). However, it became extinct on Pearl and Hermes Reef in 1930, on Sand Island in 1943 and Eastern Island in 1944 (Baldwin 1945).
Countries:	Regionally extinct: United States
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It inhabited grass tussocks and thickets.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	It became extinct on Laysan Island as a result of habitat destruction by rabbits and guinea pigs introduced by guano diggers (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). The Pearl and Hermes Reef colony was destroyed by storms; and rats, brought in by wartime activities, exterminated both the Sand Island colony and the Eastern Island colony (Baldwin 1945).

Major Threat(s):

It became extinct on Laysan Island as a result of habitat destruction by rabbits and guinea pigs introduced by guano diggers (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). The Pearl and Hermes Reef colony was destroyed by storms; and rats, brought in by wartime activities, exterminated both the Sand Island colony and the Eastern Island colony (Baldwin 1945).

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Porzana palmeri. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
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