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The species Pile-builder Megapode is extinct.

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Megapodius molistructor

[edit] Identification

Only known by fossil material found in caves on New Caledonia and Tonga. With a weight of 3.5 kg it was the largest land bird on Tonga.

[edit] Distribution

New Caledonia, Tonga

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Habitat

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Extinction

Became extinct on Tonga during the Lapita culture around 1500 years BC.

[edit] References

1. Balouet, J.-C. & Alibert, E. (1990): Extinct Species of the World, Barrons, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney. ISBN 2-7373-0254-4
2. Steadman, David William (2006): Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-77142-3
3. Balouet, Jean Christophe; Olson, Storrs L.: Fossil Birds from Late Quaternary Deposits in New Caledonia, 1989

[edit] External Links