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Description

The recently extinct fauna of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, to scale.

Located off the east coast of Australia are two small subtropical island groups (Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands), of which the latter is twice as distant from the mainland. They are isolated outcrops from the massive submerged continental mass known as Zealandia, which also includes New Caledonia and New Zealand. Not surprisingly the extinct/extant fauna have many similarities to Australia, New Zealand and surrounding Melanesian islands. In common with many Pacific islands, extinctions have been caused by a combination of human hunting, habitat destruction and introduced competitors/predators.

Notable fauna include:

* Along with a small species found in New Caledonia Extinct Island Fauna - Melanesia 1 , Lord Howe was home to a late-living species of meiolaniid turtle. This species is actually the best known member of the entire clade with full skeletal remains. Meiolania platyceps probably died out prior to the arrival of humans during a period of rising sea levels.

* Unlike all other known Porphyrio swamphens, the species found on Lord Howe was known for it's pale plumage. The white swamphen was not due to albinism as the birds had a red beak, frontal shield and legs. Young birds resembled other swamphens being blue, but as they reached maturity became gradually paler. Little is known about the living bird but it was probably flightless, having very short wings. It possibly lasted only two years after the discovery of the islands in the late 18th Century, despite being considered common.

* Kaka and kea (Nestor) are large parrots found exclusively to New Zealand, although previously two species of kaka were found on more remote island groups. One was found to the east of New Zealand on the Chatham Islands (Extinct Island Fauna - Chatham Islands ) while the other was to the north on Norfolk Island. Little is known about the Norfolk kaka, but it was hunted for food and as a pet by Polynesians and European settlers.

* Both island groups had separate subspecies of the Boobook/Morepork owl found across New Zealand and Tasmania (the mainland Australian form is considered a separate species). While the Lord Howe subspecies is now extinct, the one on Norfolk survives (in part) as a hybrid population when the population was reduced to one female. One of two New Zealand males successfully bred with the female and all current birds descend from this pair.

* The Tasman starling consisted of two subspecies which lived on each of the island groups. Both vanished during the early 1900s with a combination of introduced competitors (starlings and thrushes), predators (black rats) and habitat destruction to blame.

Description

The recently extinct fauna of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, to scale.

Located off the east coast of Australia are two small subtropical island groups (Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands), of which the latter is twice as distant from the mainland. They are isolated outcrops from the massive submerged continental mass known as Zealandia, which also includes New Caledonia and New Zealand. Not surprisingly the extinct/extant fauna have many similarities to Australia, New Zealand and surrounding Melanesian islands. In common with many Pacific islands, extinctions have been caused by a combination of human hunting, habitat destruction and introduced competitors/predators.

Notable fauna include:

* Along with a small species found in New Caledonia Extinct Island Fauna - Melanesia 1 , Lord Howe was home to a late-living species of meiolaniid turtle. This species is actually the best known member of the entire clade with full skeletal remains. Meiolania platyceps probably died out prior to the arrival of humans during a period of rising sea levels.

* Unlike all other known Porphyrio swamphens, the species found on Lord Howe was known for it's pale plumage. The white swamphen was not due to albinism as the birds had a red beak, frontal shield and legs. Young birds resembled other swamphens being blue, but as they reached maturity became gradually paler. Little is known about the living bird but it was probably flightless, having very short wings. It possibly lasted only two years after the discovery of the islands in the late 18th Century, despite being considered common.

* Kaka and kea (Nestor) are large parrots found exclusively to New Zealand, although previously two species of kaka were found on more remote island groups. One was found to the east of New Zealand on the Chatham Islands (Extinct Island Fauna - Chatham Islands ) while the other was to the north on Norfolk Island. Little is known about the Norfolk kaka, but it was hunted for food and as a pet by Polynesians and European settlers.

* Both island groups had separate subspecies of the Boobook/Morepork owl found across New Zealand and Tasmania (the mainland Australian form is considered a separate species). While the Lord Howe subspecies is now extinct, the one on Norfolk survives (in part) as a hybrid population when the population was reduced to one female. One of two New Zealand males successfully bred with the female and all current birds descend from this pair.

* The Tasman starling consisted of two subspecies which lived on each of the island groups. Both vanished during the early 1900s with a combination of introduced competitors (starlings and thrushes), predators (black rats) and habitat destruction to blame.