Mangaia swiftlet

The Mangaia swiftlet (Aerodramusa manuoi) is an extinct species of bird in the swift family. It became extinct during prehistoric times. It was endemic to Mangaia in the Cook Islands. It was closely allied with the extant Atiu swiftlet (Aerodramus sawtelli) of Atiu, Mangaia's neighbouring island, though it was probably slightly larger.[1]

Mangaia swiftlet
Temporal range: Late Holocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Genus: Aerodramus
Species:
A. manuoi
Binomial name
Aerodramus manuoi
Synonyms
  • Collocalia manuoi

It was described from six fossil bones recovered from a Holocene rock shelter deposit on Mangaia. The coracoid and carpometacarpus of the new species are larger and very different qualitatively from those of the Atiu species. This is the first species of Aerodramus to be described from fossils.[1]

References

Notes

  1. Steadman (2002).

Sources

  • Steadman, David W. (2002). "A new species of swiftlet (Aves: Apodidae) from the late Quaternary of Mangaia, Cook Islands, Oceania". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22 (2): 326–331. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0326:ANSOSA]2.0.CO;2.


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