Dieffenbach's rail (Hypotaenidia dieffenbachii ) is an extinct flightless species of bird from the family Rallidae. It was endemic to the Chatham Islands and referred to as meriki, or mehoriki, by the indigenous Moriori. The only recorded living specimen of Dieffenbach's rail was captured in 1840 by Ernst Dieffenbach, who is commemorated in the scientific and common name of the species. It became extinct due to hunting and introduced predators, perhaps soon after 1840.
The Dieffenbach's rail was sympatric with the flightless Chatham rail. Their sympatry suggests parallel evolution after separate colonisation of the Chatham Islands by a common volant ancestor, presumably the buff-banded rail (Hypotaenidia philippensis ). A 2014 genetic analysis found that the taxa were not particularly closely related, with Dieffenbach's rail being sister to the group of Hypotaenidia including the Buff-banded rail, while the Chatham rail was found to be in a more basal position.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species including the well known ratites (ostri...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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