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Rhodacanthis
''Rhodacanthis'', commonly known as the koa finches, is an extinct genus of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. All four species were endemic to Hawaii. Habitat and diet Members of this genus were granivores, with bills adapted to the seeds and pods of legumes. The two species that became extinct in the 1890s, '' R. flaviceps'' and '' R. palmeri'', inhabited upper elevation mesic forests dominated by koa ''(Acacia koa'') on the island of Hawaii. Both were large birds; ''R. flaviceps'' measured , while ''R. palmeri'' was in length. The combination of a giant bill with brightly colored plumage (yellow for ''R. flaviceps'', orange for ''R. palmeri'') gave the males a very striking appearance. Koa seeds were the preferred food for the two species, but caterpillars were taken if necessary. The two prehistoric species, '' R. forfex'' and '' R. litotes'', were denizens of more lowland tropical dry forests and shrublands on Kauai, Maui, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Koa Finch
The lesser koa finch (''Rhodacanthis flaviceps'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It was endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi. Description The only specimens of the lesser koa finch ever caught were a family group with members of different ages and sex, ideal for study.George C. Munro. (1944) The males were apparently golden-yellow with olive green on the breast and belly. The females were almost indistinguishable from the species' larger relative, the greater koa finch (''Rhodacanthis palmeri''), other than the fact that the former were slightly darker in color. The juveniles were somewhat mottled on the belly, similar to the females. Distribution and habitat The lesser koa finch was endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi. This species was recorded in upland koa (''Acacia koa'') forests, but likely inhabited lowland habitat until before or shortly after the time of western contact in 1778. The IUCN Red List ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primitive Koa Finch
The primitive koa finch (''Rhodacanthis litotes'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It is known from fossils on the islands of Maui and Oʻahu in Hawaii. Description An adult primitive koa finch was slender and had a total length of about . There was probably a small distinct difference between the sexes. Based on fossils, it is known that the adult primitive koa finch had a slightly curved, thick bill. The paper that named the species in 2005 also mentions, "the fossil record of ''Rhodacanthis'' may contain at least one additional cryptic species. The difference in aperture of the nasal cavity in the Oahu vs. Maui fossils of ''R''. ''litotes'' suggests that those two populations might be recognized as distinct species if more fossils or genetic data were available for them." Distribution Primitive koa finch fossils have been found on Maui and Oʻahu. Based on its disjunct distribution, the species migh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawaiian Honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small birds endemic to Hawaii. They are members of the finch family Fringillidae, closely related to the rosefinches (''Carpodacus''), but many species have evolved features unlike those present in any other finch. Their great morphological diversity is the result of adaptive radiation in an insular environment. Many have been driven to extinction since the first humans arrived in Hawaii, with extinctions increasing over the last two centuries following European discovery of the islands, with habitat destruction and especially invasive species being the main causes. Taxonomy Before the introduction of molecular phylogenetic techniques, the relationship of the Hawaiian honeycreepers to other bird species was controversial. The honeycreepers were sometimes categorized as a family Drepanididae,Clements, J. 2007. ''The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World.'' 6th ed. other authorities considered them a subfamily, Drepanidinae, of Frin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Koa Finch
The greater koa finch (''Rhodacanthis palmeri'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It was endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi. Description The bird was about 7–8 in (18–20 cm) long when fully grown. It was the largest known honey-creeper, although its typical weight is unknown. The bird was sexually dimorphic; the male was brilliant scarlet-orange on head, neck, and breast, with lighter orange on its bottom, and olive brown with orange touches on back, wings, and tail; however, the female was brownish olive, and somewhat lighter below. It had a thick black bill which allowed it to break open seed pods that were found in the trees. In historical times, its range was largely confined to the Kona District of the island of Hawaii, although it was observed in the Kīlauea area in 1895. It was much more widespread prior to the arrival of humans in Hawaii, and related species lived on other islands. In Kona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scissor-billed Koa Finch
The scissor-billed koa finch or scissor finch (''Rhodacanthis forfex'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It is known from fossils on the islands of Maui and Kauaʻi in Hawaii. Distribution Scissor-billed koa finch fossils have been found on Maui and Kauai. Based on its disjunct distribution, the species might have occurred on all of the main islands (except the island of Hawaii), although more fossils are needed for confirmation. Diet The scissor-billed koa finch was a granivore, that, like the other members of its genus, had a bill adapted to eat the hard seeds and pods of legumes. Pollen and fossil evidence indicates that ''Ka palupalu o Kanaloa'' ('' Kanaloa kahoolawensis'') and ''koaia'' ('' Acacia koaia'') were probably important food sources, and it may have eaten caterpillars and ''aalii'' (''Dodonaea viscosa'') berries. Extinction The koa finches seem to have been driven to extinction by habi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Koa Finch
The greater koa finch (''Rhodacanthis palmeri'') is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. It was endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi. Description The bird was about 7–8 in (18–20 cm) long when fully grown. It was the largest known honey-creeper, although its typical weight is unknown. The bird was sexually dimorphic; the male was brilliant scarlet-orange on head, neck, and breast, with lighter orange on its bottom, and olive brown with orange touches on back, wings, and tail; however, the female was brownish olive, and somewhat lighter below. It had a thick black bill which allowed it to break open seed pods that were found in the trees. In historical times, its range was largely confined to the Kona District of the island of Hawaii, although it was observed in the Kīlauea area in 1895. It was much more widespread prior to the arrival of humans in Hawaii, and related species lived on other islands. In Kona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finch
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usually resident and do not migrate. They have a worldwide native distribution except for Australia and the polar regions. The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty genera. It includes the canaries, siskins, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias, as well as the morphologically divergent Hawaiian honeycreepers. Many birds in other families are also commonly called "finches". These groups include the estrildid finches ( Estrildidae) of the Old World tropics and Australia; some members of the Old World bunting family ( Emberizidae) and the New World sparrow family ( Passerellidae); and the Darwin's finches of the Galapagos islands, now considered members of the tanager family (Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carduelinae
The cardueline finches are a subfamily, Carduelinae, one of three subfamilies of the finch family Fringillidae, the others being the Fringillinae and the Euphoniinae. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are now included in this subfamily. Except for the Hawaiian honeycreepers which underwent adaptive radiation in Hawaii and have evolved a broad range of diets, cardueline finches are specialised seed eaters, and unlike most passerine birds, they feed their young mostly on seeds, which are regurgitated.Newton, 1973, p. 31 Besides this, they differ from the other finches in some minor details of their skull. They are adept at opening seeds and clinging to stems, unlike other granivorous birds, such as sparrows and buntings, which feed mostly on fallen seeds. Some members of this subfamily are further specialised to feed on a particular type of seed, such as cones in the case of crossbills. Carduelines forage in flocks throughout the year, rather than keeping territories, and males defend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes. Caterpillars of most species eat plant material ( often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact, many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dodonaea Viscosa
''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in Tropics, tropical, Subtropics, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and Australasia. ''Dodonaea'' is part of Sapindaceae, the soapberry family. This species is notable for its extremely wide distribution, which it achieved only over the last 2 million years (from its region of origin in Australia) via oceanic dispersal. Harrington and Gadek (2009) referred to ''D. viscosa'' as having "a distribution equal to some of the world’s greatest transoceanic dispersers". Description ''D. viscosa'' is a shrub growing to tall, rarely a small tree to tall. The leaf, leaves are variable in shape: generally obovate but some of them are lanceolate, often sessile, long and broad, alternate in arrangement, and secrete a resinous substance. Many specimens have a pointed or rounded apex. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanaloa (plant)
''Kanaloa kahoolawensis'', the ''Ka palupalu o Kanaloa'' or ''kohe malama malama o kanaloa'',USFWS''Kanaloa kahoolawensis'' Species Profile/ref> is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae and is Endemism, endemic to Hawaii. ''Kanaloa'' is a monotypic genus with the single species ''Kanaloa kahoolawensis''. History ''Kanaloa'' was discovered in 1992 by the botanists Ken Wood and Steve Perlman of the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kahoolawe, Kahoolawe, a small island that was formerly used as a bombing range. Kahoolawe was a penal colony for the Hawaiian monarchy from 1826 to 1853, after which it was leased for ranching. Dry weather and ranching have devastated the island's vegetation. Only two wild plants of ''Kanaloa kahoolawensis'' have been observed growing on the island. The genus and species were formally named by Lorence and Wood in 1994. The genus name honors the Hawaiian deity Kanaloa, who according to legend used the island to rest and regain hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
