The lesser ʻakialoa (Akialoa obscura) is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It was endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi. It became extinct due to habitat loss and disappeared at around the same time as its Oʻahu relative.
| Lesser ʻakialoa | |
|---|---|
,_female,_Bishop_Museum,_Honolulu.JPG) | |
| Specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
| Genus: | †Akialoa |
| Species: | †A. obscura |
| Binomial name | |
| †Akialoa obscura (JF Gmelin, 1788) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Hemignathus obscurus | |
Description
edit
It was a yellowish bird with a two-inch-long thin whitish-yellow bill. It had small olive green wings which it used to flit from tree to tree to look for insects like beetles and caterpillars.
Behavior
editIt was seen gleaning the trees in search of insects. The bill of the ʻakialoa was also designed for more than bug extraction. The ʻakialoa also fed on nectar in the flowers of lobeliads and lehua blossoms. Its long bill could easily fit into petals of long flowers and took pollen from flower to flower on its forehead. It was collected at several places. It was once thought to be the same species as the Maui and Oʻahu form, but when specimens were compared all together the scientist saw that all three were different species.[citation needed]
Extinction
editA combination of deforestation and introduced disease carrying mosquitoes caused massive population decline which later led to the extinction of the ʻakialoa in 1940.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 BirdLife International (2017). "Akialoa obscura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T22728910A119550231. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22728910A119550231.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ↑ "Akialoa obscura. NatureServe Explorer 2.0". Retrieved 1 May 2023.
External links
edit- 3D view of specimens RMNH 110.013 and RMNH 110.014 at Naturalis, Leiden (requires QuickTime browser plugin)
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