St Bathans pigeon
Rupephaps taketake Worthy T., Hand, Worthy J., Tennyson & Scofield, 2009
Saint Bathans pigeon
St Bathans pigeon Holotype (coracoid), S.051259, Te Papa. St Bathans, December 1899. Image © Te Papa.
Saint Bathans pigeon
Species information
The St Bathans pigeon was originally described from a single coracoid recovered from 19-16 million-year-old (Early Miocene) lake-bed deposits along the true left bank of the Manuherikia River, St Bathans, central Otago. A right tarsometatarsus subsequently found in the same deposit was referred to the same species in 2018.
The St Bathans pigeon was slightly smaller than a kererū (New Zealand pigeon), and belonged to the same lineage of large fruit doves within the ‘fruit dove group’ (Ptilinopinae) as the kererū. However, it was possibly equally related to Indonesian/Melanesian mountain pigeons (Gymnophaps) and the Australian topknot pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus), which are sister taxa to kererū (i.e. Rupephaps lies outside this combined clade). It is therefore likely that the kererū was derived from a shared Australian, Pacific or south-east Asian ancestor, rather than evolving in situ from Rupephaps.
The genus name is based on ‘Rupe’, a Māori and Polynesian name for pigeons, and ‘phaps’, which is a Greek noun for ‘wild pigeon’. The species name taketake is based on a Māori word meaning ancient or original.
The holotype coracoid (NMNZ S.51259) is held at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the referred tarsometatarsus (CM 2013.18.915) is held at Canterbury Museum.
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References
De Pietri, V.L.; Scofield, R.P.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Hand, S.J.; Worthy, T.H. 2018. The diversity of early Miocene pigeons (Columbidae) in New Zealand. Pp 49–68. In: Acosta Hospitaleche, C.; Agnolin, F.L.; Haidr, N.; Noriega, J.I.; Tambussi, C.P. (Eds) Paleontología y Evolución de las Aves. Proceedings of the 9th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution. Contribuciones del MACN 7, 2017.
Worthy, T.H.; Hand, S.J.; Worthy, J.P.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Scofield, R.P. 2009. A large fruit pigeon (Columbidae) from the Early Miocene of New Zealand. Auk 126: 649-656.
Worthy, T.H.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Jones, C.; McNamara, J.A.; Douglas, B.J. 2007. Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 5: 1-39.
Recommended citation
Miskelly, C.M. 2013 [updated 2022]. St Bathans pigeon. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
Breeding and ecology
St Bathans pigeon
No data available.
Identification
An extinct pigeon known from two bones found in 19-16 million-year-old (Early Miocene) lake-bed deposits at St Bathans, Otago. The St Bathans pigeon was slightly smaller than a New Zealand pigeon (kereru).
