The Auckland Island merganser (Mergus australis) (Māori: Miuweka),[3] also known as the New Zealand merganser, was a typical merganser that is now extinct.
| Auckland Island merganser Temporal range: Late Holocene
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|---|---|
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| Stuffed specimen from 1902 | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Mergus |
| Species: | †M. australis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Mergus australis | |
Description
editThis duck was similar in size to the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator). The adult male had a dark reddish-brown head, crest and neck, with bluish black mantle and tail and slate grey wings.[4] The female was slightly smaller with a shorter crest.
History
editThe Auckland Island merganser was known from the Auckland Islands archipelago, part of the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands. The only historical records are from Auckland Island and Adams Island. Holocene bones were found on Enderby Island.[5] The last specimens were apparently a pair shot on 9 January 1902, and the species is now extinct.[5] It was not found in a 1909 search, and a thorough 1972/1973 exploration of possible habitat concluded that it was long extinct.[6] Its decline was caused by a combination of hunting and predation by introduced mammals.[7]
The closely related Chatham Island merganser (Mergus milleneri) is known from Holocene bones found on Chatham Island, New Zealand.[8] The species identity of merganser bones from mainland New Zealand - North, South, and Stewart Islands - is unresolved.[5]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Mergus australis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22680496A92864737. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680496A92864737.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Mergus australis. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Auckland Island merganser | Miuweka | New Zealand Birds Online". nzbirdsonline.org.nz. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ Tennyson, Alan J. D. (2006). Extinct birds of New Zealand. Paul Martinson. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8. OCLC 80016906.
- ^ a b c Miskelly, Colin & Forsdick, Natalie & Gill, Brian & Palma, Ricardo & Rawlence, Nicolas & Tennyson, Alan. (2022). CHECKLIST OF THE BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361824003_CHECKLIST_OF_THE_BIRDS_OF_NEW_ZEALAND
- ^ Williams, G. R. & Weller, M. W.. (1974): Unsuccessful search for the Auckland Islands Merganser (Mergus australis). Notornis 21(3): 246–249. PDF fulltext
- ^ Russell, James; Horn, Stephen R.; Miskelly, Colin M.; Sagar, Rachael; Taylor, Rowland H. (2020). "Introduced land mammals and their impacts on the birds of the subantarctic Auckland Islands". Notornis. 67 (1): 247–268.
- ^ "Chatham Island merganser | New Zealand Birds Online". nzbirdsonline.org.nz. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
