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Ducula tihonireasini n.sp. (1 Viewer)

Fred Ruhe

Well-known member
Netherlands
Stanislas Rigal, Patrick V. Kirch, and Trevor H. Worthy, 2018

New prehistoric avifaunas from the Gambier Group, French Polynesia

Palaeontologia Electronica. 21 (3): Article number 21.3.43. doi:10.26879/892

Abstract and free pdf: https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2018/2360-gambier-group-fossil-avifaunas

This paper analyses 647 bird bones identifiable at least to family-level collected from archaeological sites in 2005, 2012 and 2014 by P. Kirch, in the Gambier Group, French Polynesia. The bones derive from Onemea Site (TAR-6) on Taravai Island, Nenega-Iti Rock Shelter (AGA-3) on Agakauitai Island and Kitchen Cave (KAM-1) on Kamaka Island. Eighteen bird species, four newly recorded in this archipelago, are represented among the bones from archaeological layers dating from human arrival in the tenth century to the late pre-European contact period in the early nineteeth century. They reveal that the original avifauna from the Gambier Group minimally included 37 species. These include six now extinct taxa, a species of Pseudobulweria petrel, two columbids (Bountyphaps obsoleta, Ducula tihonireasini n.sp. described herein) and three other land birds that were recorded historically. Minimally, a further six species have been extirpated from the Gambier Group. These archaeological avifaunas are strongly dominated by seabirds (89.4% Minimum Number Individuals) but differences in species representation and dominance suggest the composition of breeding seabird faunas differed between islands. Columbidae were the dominant land birds (58.9% MNI), although no species of this family currently exist on this archipelago.

Enjoy,

Fred
 
Systematic Palaeontology

SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY

Order GALLIFORMES Temminck, 1820
Family PHASIANIDAE Horsfield, 1821
Genus GALLUS Brisson, 1760
Gallus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758), Red Junglefowl

Order COLUMBIFORMES Latham, 1790
Family COLUMBIDAE Illiger, 1811
Genus BOUNTYPHAPS Worthy and Wragg, 2008
Bountyphaps sp. cf. B. obsoleta Worthy and Wragg, 2008

Genus DUCULA Hodgson, 1836
Ducula tihonireasini nov. sp.

Holotype
NMNZ S.47667, field number TAR6-TP02-II-5-20, right tarsometatarsus, broken through the foramen distale and lacking all trochleae, collected by P. Kirch et al., 19 August 2003.

Holotype Locality
Layer II, level 5, test pit 2, Onemea Dune Site (190-12-TAR-6), Taravai Island, Gambier Group, French Polynesia (Conte and Kirch, 2004; Kirch et al., 2010).

Paratype
NMNZ S.47668, field number TAR6-TP11-3-19AC, dR tibiotarsus (Figure 3.5-3.8), collected by P. Kirch et al. August 2005. Paratype Locality Layer II, level 3, test pit 11, Onemea Dune Site (190-12-TAR-6), Taravai Island, Gambier Group, French Polynesia (Kirch et al., 2010).

Etymology
The species is named after the late Tihoni Reasin, who was the owner of Kamaka Island. Tihoni, as a 14-year old, worked with Roger Green in the first excavation of Kitchen Cave. He then greatly assisted PV Kirch and his team in all of their field trips to Mangareva, and especially during the 2012 and 2014 re-excavations at Kitchen Cave, when he hosted them on Kamaka.

Stratigraphy/Age
An archaeological deposit deposited between AD 950 and AD 1350 (Kirch et al., 2010).

Referred Material
Onemea Dune Site (190-12-TAR-6). Total, including types, NISP= 6; MNI = 3. Layer II: TAR6-TP02-II-5-20, pL fem; TAR6-TP11-II-2-9A-D, L metatarsal. Both specimens were in the same layer and in the same (TP2 – holotype) or adjacent (TP11-paratype) excavated units as the type material. Layer II: TAR6-TP05-II-6-55A-H, sR tt, which overlaps the shaft area preserved in the paratype NMNZ S.47668, is from a second individual, (Total Layer II, including types, NISP= 5; MNI = 2). Layer III: TAR6-TP02-II-8-33-F, L manus phalanx
II.1 (Total NISP= 1; MNI = 1).
 

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Systematic Palaeontology

Genus PTILINOPUS Swainson, 1825
Ptilinopus sp. indet., indeterminate fruit dove

COLUMBIDAE genus et sp. indet.

Order PHAETHONTIFORMES Sharpe, 1891
Family PHAETHONTIDAE Brandt, 1840
Genus PHAETHON Linnaeus, 1758
Phaethon lepturus Daudin, 1802, White-tailed Tropicbird

Phaethon rubricauda Boddaert, 1783 Red-tailed Tropicbird

Order PROCELLARIIFORMES Fürbringer, 1888
Family PROCELLARIIDAE Leach 1820
Genus PSEUDOBULWERIA Mathews, 1936
Pseudobulweria sp. indet.

Genus PTERODROMA Bonaparte, 1856
Pterodroma magn. P. heraldica (Salvin, 1888), Herald Petrel

Pterodroma magn. P. leucoptera (Gould, 1844), White-winged Petrel

Pterodroma sp. indet.

Genus PUFFINUS Brisson, 1760
Puffinus magn. P. bailloni Bonaparte, 1857, Tropical Shearwater

Puffinus nativitatis Streets, 1877, Christmas Shearwater

Puffinus sp. Indet.

Genus ARDENNA Reichenbach, 1853
Ardenna pacifica (Gmelin, 1789), Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Procellariidae genus indet.

Family OCEANITIDAE Salvin, 1896
Genus NESOFREGETTA Mathews, 1912
Nesofregetta fuliginosa (Gmelin, 1789), Polynesian Storm-Petrel

Order PELECANIFORMES Sharpe, 1891
Family ARDEIDAE Leach, 1820
Genus EGRETTA T. Forster, 1817
Egretta sacra (Gmelin, 1789), Pacific Reef Egret

Family FREGATIDAE Degland & Gerbe, 1867
Genus FREGATA Lacépède, 1799
Fregata ariel (Gray, 1845), Lesser Frigatebird

Fregata minor (Gmelin, 1789), Great Frigatebird

Order CHARADRIIFORMES Huxley, 1867
Family LARIDAE Rafinesque, 1815
Genus GYGIS Wagler, 1832
Gygis alba (Sparrman, 1786), White Tern

Laridae magn. Procelsterna cerulea (Bennett, 1840), Blue Noddy

Fred
 
Ducula tihonireasini

Some additional info regarding the commemorated Mr Tihoni Reasin (c.19452017) ...
[...]
Etymology
The species is named after the late Tihoni Reasin, who was the owner of Kamaka Island. Tihoni, as a 14-year old, worked with Roger Green in the first excavation of Kitchen Cave. He then greatly assisted PV Kirch and his team in all of their field trips to Mangareva, and especially during the 2012 and 2014 re-excavations at Kitchen Cave, when he hosted them on Kamaka.
[...]

18/11/2017
It is with great sadness we just learned that our friend Tihoni Reasin passed away yesterday. Tihoni was the owner and only inhabitant of the small Kamaka Island, in the Gambier, where we conducted some archaeological work in 2012 and 2014 with Patrick Kirch.
Tihoni participated in Roger and Kaye Green's excavations on the island in 1959 before attending school in Hawaii. He returned permanently to Kamaka in 1981 and built several houses for him and his family. He's always been a wonderful host for our team, eager to help us in our work, cooking delicious meals at night in his tiny kitchen, and sharing his stories and his passion for astronomy... We could not have worked there without him, a great guy and one of the last 'characters' of the Pacific. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family. Aloha o'e Tihoni

[From here or here]​

Björn
--
 
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