Gallirallus is a genusofrails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. The genus is characterised by an ability to colonise relatively small and isolated islands and thereafter to evolve flightless forms, many of which became extinct following Polynesian settlement.
Following recent taxonomic revisions, there is only one known extant species in this genus along with several extinct species of dubious classification, with all other species being moved to Hypotaenidia, Cabalus, Lewinia, or Aptenorallus.[1]
Many of the rails, including the well-known wekaofNew Zealand, are flightless or nearly so.
Many of the resultant flightless island endemics became extinct after the arrival of humans, which hunted these birds for food, introduced novel predators like rats, dogs or pigs, and upset the local ecosystems. A common Polynesian name of these rails, mainly relatives of G. philippensis, is veka/weka (inEnglish, this name is generally limited to Gallirallus australis).
On the other hand, Gallirallus species are (with the exception of the weka) notoriously retiring and shy birds with often drab coloration.
Illustration of an unidentified extinct species (possibly G. vekamatolu) from Vava'u, 1793
Aside from the weka, all species classified in the genus Gallirallus are only known from subfossil remains, having gone extinct in the Quaternary extinction event. Given the recent taxonomic changes that have led to the weka being the only remaining Gallirallus species, it is possible these may also belong to different genera, but are presently retained in Gallirallus due to uncertainty.[3]
^A similar bird was found to live on nearby Vava‘u in 1793. Given that G. vekamatolu was flightless, this may just as well represent a related species.
^Kirchman, J.J.; Steadman, D. W. (2005). "Rails (Aves: Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric sites in the Kingdom of Tonga, including description of a new species". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118 (2): 465–477. doi:10.2988/0006-324x(2005)118[465:rargfp]2.0.co;2. S2CID86755841.
Media related to Gallirallus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Gallirallus at Wikispecies
