| Saint Helena dove | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | †Dysmoropelia Olson, 1975 |
| Species: | †D. dekarchiskos |
| Binomial name | |
| †Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos Olson, 1975 | |
 | |
| Location ofSaint Helena | |
TheSaint Helena dove (Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos) is an extinct species offlightless bird in the familyColumbidae. It ismonotypic within the genusDysmoropelia.[1] It wasendemic to the island ofSaint Helena in theSouth Atlantic Ocean. It is known from remains ofLate Pleistocene[2] (formerly considered to be Middle Pleistocene[3]) age found at the Sugarloaf Hill locality, which consists ofaeoliancalcareous sands.[3] The holotype consists of a rightcoracoid (USNM 175955), with paratypes consisting of "distal end of right tarsometatarsus (Ashmole No. 342), (S/1963.25.29) distal half of right humerus (Ashmole No. 337), (S/1963.25.26) worn left tibiotarsus lacking distal end (Kerr No. E4), (S/ 1963.25.27) distal portion of shaft of left tarsometatarsus (Kerr No. E3), (S/1963.25.30) worn proximal end of right humerus. (USNM 175956) left ulna, (175957 and 175958) proximal fragments of left ulnae, (175959) proximal end of right femur, (175962) distal end of right humerus"[3]
It was a fairly large bird with short wings relative to body size and robust legs, with among the most extreme morphological adaptions of flightless columbids, akin to that of thedodo,Rodrigues solitaire andViti Levu giant pigeon.[4] It was presumed to have been hunted to extinction soon after the island's discovery in 1502. However, no accounts of the bird exist (Introductions were made very early on in the history of Saint Helena, and the accounts are therefore less useful) and Lewis (2008) suggests the bird became extinct prior to or during theLast Glacial Maximum.[2] It has been suggested on morphological grounds that it is most closely related toStreptopelia turtle doves.[5][3]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) | ThisColumbiformes-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
 | This article aboutSaint Helena or the British Overseas Territory ofSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
