Long-billed Wren (New Zealand)
Encyclopedia
The Long-billed Wren was a species of New Zealand wren
(family
Acanthisittidae) endemic to the South Island
of New Zealand
. It was the only species in the genus
Dendroscansor. The Long-billed Wren was a tiny bird with stout legs, tiny wings and a reduced sternum
, suggesting that it had weak flight muscles and was probably flightless, like the recently extinct
Stephens Island Wren
. Its weight is estimated at 30 g, which makes it heavier than any surviving New Zealand wren but lighter than the also extinct Stout-legged Wren
. The bill
of this species was both long and curved, and unlike that of the rest of the family.
The species is known only from fossil
s at four sites across South Island. It is the rarest fossil wren from New Zealand and presumably was the least common species when it was still extant. It is thought to have had an alpine
distribution (like the surviving Rock Wren
) based on the locations of the fossils.
The Long-billed Wren was extinct before the arrival of European
colonists and explorers in New Zealand. It was among the first wave of native bird species to go extinct after the introduction
of the Polynesian rat
. Like many New Zealand species, the Long-billed Wren presumably had few defences against novel predators
such as the rat.
New Zealand wren
The New Zealand wrens, Acanthisittidae, are a family of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by six known species in four or five genera, although only two species survive in two genera today...
(family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Acanthisittidae) endemic to the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It was the only species in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Dendroscansor. The Long-billed Wren was a tiny bird with stout legs, tiny wings and a reduced sternum
Sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bony plate shaped like a capital "T" located anteriorly to the heart in the center of the thorax...
, suggesting that it had weak flight muscles and was probably flightless, like the recently extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
Stephens Island Wren
Stephens Island Wren
The Stephens Island Wren or Lyall's Wren was a nocturnal, flightless, insectivorous passerine.-Habitat:...
. Its weight is estimated at 30 g, which makes it heavier than any surviving New Zealand wren but lighter than the also extinct Stout-legged Wren
Stout-legged Wren
The Stout-legged Wren or Yaldwin's Wren is an extinct species of New Zealand wren, a family of small birds endemic to New Zealand.-History and etymology:...
. The bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
of this species was both long and curved, and unlike that of the rest of the family.
The species is known only from fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s at four sites across South Island. It is the rarest fossil wren from New Zealand and presumably was the least common species when it was still extant. It is thought to have had an alpine
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as mountain climate or highland climate....
distribution (like the surviving Rock Wren
Rock Wren (New Zealand)
The New Zealand Rockwren , or Rock Wren, is a small New Zealand wren endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It is sometimes known as the South Island Wren, a name used to separate it from the unrelated Rock Wren of North America...
) based on the locations of the fossils.
The Long-billed Wren was extinct before the arrival of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
colonists and explorers in New Zealand. It was among the first wave of native bird species to go extinct after the introduction
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
of the Polynesian rat
Polynesian Rat
The Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat , known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the Brown Rat and Black Rat. The Polynesian Rat originates in Southeast Asia but, like its cousins, has become well travelled – infiltrating Fiji and most Polynesian...
. Like many New Zealand species, the Long-billed Wren presumably had few defences against novel predators
Island tameness
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. The term is partly synonymous with ecological naïvete, which also has a wider meaning referring to the loss of...
such as the rat.
External links
- Holotype of Dendroscansor decurvirostris in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- Long-billed Wren. Dendroscansor decurvirostris. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006