New Zealand’s extinct Hakawai melvillei was sister taxon to Australian Plains-wanderer

Hello A couple of New Zealand birders have kindly sent me this piece (which I believe came from nzbirdsonline) while the editor of Birds New Zealand, the magazine of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand, sent me the article’s link (below). The article was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. —————————————————————— http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2015.1087064 Hakawai melvillei De Pietri, Scofield, Tennyson, Hand, Worthy, 2015 The New Zealand lake-wanderer was described from 52 bones recovered from 19-16 million-year-old (Early Miocene) lake-bed deposits along the Manuherikia River and nearby Mata Creek, St Bathans, central Otago. The holotype (NMNZ S.50806, a right tarsometatarsus) is held at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa). The eight paratype skeletal elements are held at Te Papa (6) and Canterbury Museum (2), along with 43 other skeletal elements. The New Zealand lake-wanderer was a small, long-legged wader similar in size to a male (Australian) plains-wanderer Pedionomus torquatus (i.e. about 54 g). Based on limb-bone proportions, it was probably a competent flier that fed in shallow water. Some elements found were not skeletally mature, indicating that the birds bred locally, rather than being migrants from elsewhere. The discovery of bones of both adults and juveniles in sediments deposited in shallow lake margins suggests that this is where it preferred to live. Skeletal features place the New Zealand lake-wanderer in a clade that includes both the plains-wanderer (Pedionomidae) and the South American seedsnipes (Thinocoridae), with the plains-wanderer as its closest relative. However, it was sufficiently distinct that it may deserve placement in its own family, as recognised in the common name proposed here. The genus name is based on the mythical Hakawai bird of M?ori legend, now recognised as being a nocturnal aerial display by Coenocorypha snipe. The species name honours New Zealand-based ornithologist David Melville for his efforts to advance shorebird conservation locally and globally. ——————————————————————- Our dry land wanderers in the Wanganella area of NSW, while being scarce, are looking to breed. As well as an adult trio (two males and a female), we have recorded two young females (from a clutch laid in July) that are not yet fully coloured but are seemingly wanting to breed, with one of those females calling for a mate at barely three months old. This species is amazingly resilient with minimal rainfall this year. Hopefully the rain forecast for the next couple of days will eventuate. Cheers Philip Maher Deniliquin Australian Ornithological Services Pty Ltd PO Box 385 South Yarra 3141 Victoria Australia Tel: + 61 3 98204223 Mobile: 0417310200 http://www.philipmaher.com