New Zealand goose

New Zealand geese
Temporal range: Otiran-Holocene
Skeletons of the South Island goose and Cape Barren goose

Extinct (NZ TCS)[1](C. gracilis)

Extinct (NZ TCS)[2](C. calcitrans)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Subfamily: Anserinae
Genus: †Cnemiornis
Owen 1866
Species
  • C. gracilis
  • C. calcitrans

The New Zealand goose is a bird of the extinct genus Cnemiornis of the family Anatidae, subfamily Anserinae.[3] The genus, endemic to New Zealand, consisted of two species: the North Island goose, C. gracilis and the South Island goose C. calcitrans.[4][5]

Description

Life restoration of C. calcitrans

This goose was as large as some small moa.[6][7] The North Island species had 15 kg (33 lb) in body mass while the South Island species reached 18 kg (40 lb), far surpassing Canada and Cape barren geese.[6] They were flightless,[6] with much-reduced webbing on the feet, an adaptation for terrestrial dwelling similar to that of the nene of Hawaii.[citation needed] They are usually considered most closely related to the Cape Barren goose of Australia.[5]

Extinction

They were never particularly common, and like many other large New Zealand endemic species they were subject to hunting pressures from the settling Polynesians, as well as predation upon their eggs and hatchlings by kiore, or the Polynesian rat (which accompanied the settlers) and the settlers' dogs, and were extinct before the arrival of European settlers.[5][8][6] The Māori name of the North Island goose (C. gracilis) was "tarepo".[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Cnemiornis gracilis. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Cnemiornis calcitrans. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  3. ^ Baker, A. J. (1991). "A review of New Zealand ornithology". Current Ornithology. 8: 1–67. ISBN 9780306436406.
  4. ^ "Cnemiornis Owen". www.nzor.org.nz. Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  5. ^ a b c Worthy, T. H.; Holdaway, R. N.; Sorenson, M. D.; Cooper, A. C. (December 1997). "Description of the first complete skeleton of the extinct New Zealand goose Cnemiornis calcitrans (Aves: Anatidae), and a reassessment of the relationships of Cnemiornis" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 243 (4): 695–718. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb01971.x. hdl:2027.42/74169.
  6. ^ a b c d T. H. Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway (2002). The Lost World of the Moa. Prehistoric Life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780253340344. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  7. ^ Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2006). Extinct birds of New Zealand. Paul Martinson. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8. OCLC 80016906.
  8. ^ "Extinct birds". www.terranature.org. TerraNature Trust. Retrieved 1 October 2022.