Talpanas lippa (Kaua'i Mole Duck) (1 Viewer)

Witmer, Lawrence M., Ridgely, Ryan C., James, Helen F., Olson, Storrs L. and Iwaniuk, Andrew N. (2017). The remarkable, recently extinct “mole-duck” Talpanas lippa (Aves: Anseriformes) from Kauai, Hawaii: behavioral implications of its neuroanatomy and skull morphology. The FASEB Journal
vol. 31 no. 1 Supplement 251.6. [Abstract]

The full text is still not available yet.

A very good find Melanie.

For those interested, the originaal description is:

ANDREW N. IWANIUK, STORRS L. OLSON & HELEN F. JAMES, 2009
Extraordinary cranial specialization in a new genus of extinct duck (Aves: Anseriformes) from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands
Zootaxa 2296: 47–67 (2009)

Notice, the name is Talpanas lippa Olson & James, 2009.

Etymology. L. talpa (f.) a mole, plus anas (f.), a duck, in allusion to the greatly reduced size of the eyes. The gender is feminine. Among mammals, the closest analog of the new genus of duck in the appearance of the cranium, as well as in the similarity in trigeminal enlargement (Home 1802), is the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), an alternate vernacular of which among Australian colonists was "duck-mole."
The reduced eyes and poor vision of moles (Talpidae) are well known.
L. lippus, nearly blind

Here is a photo of the holotype skull

A free pdf of ANDREW N. IWANIUK, STORRS L. OLSON & HELEN F. JAMES, 2009 is here:

https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/8700

Fred

There is a nice rendition in the book Extinct Birds of Hawaii (2016) by Michael Walther and J. P. Hume (who proposed the vernacular name in 2012 (Extinct Birds))