The Antipodes snipe (''Coenocorypha aucklandica meinertzhagenae''), also known as the Antipodes Island snipe, is an isolated

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the Subantarctic snipe that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Antipodes Islands The Antipodes Islands (, ) are inhospitable and uninhabited volcanic islands in subantarctic waters to the south of – and territorially part of – New Zealand. The archipelago lies to the southeast of Stewart Island / Rakiura, and to the ...

, a

subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46th parallel south, 46° and 60th parallel south, 60° south of t ...

island group south of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

Taxonomy and etymology

The Antipodes Island snipe was first collected by Fairchild in 1887, and by

Andreas Reischek Andreas Reischek (15 September 1845 – 3 April 1902) was an Austrian taxidermy, taxidermist, natural history, naturalist, ornithology, ornithologist and grave robber notable for his extensive natural history collecting expeditions throughout New ...

in 1888. It was first described by Walter Rothschild in 1893 as ''Gallinago tristrami'' in honour of

Henry Baker Tristram Henry Baker Tristram FRS (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) was an English clergyman, Bible scholar, traveller and ornithologist. As a parson-naturalist he was an early, but short-lived, supporter of Darwinism, attempting to reconcile evolution an ...

. However, doubts were raised about the provenance of the type specimen, which appeared to be from the Auckland Islands, and Rothschild made a new description in 1927, recognising the Antipodes Island form as a subspecies of ''Coenocorypha aucklandica''. The subspecific name honours

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Annie Meinertzhagen Annie Meinertzhagen (2 June 1889 – 6 July 1928) was a Scottish ornithologist who contributed to studies on bird migration and was a specialist regarding waders and ducks, especially their moulting patterns. She married fellow ornithologist Rich ...

, the second wife of ornithologist

Richard Meinertzhagen Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, CBE, DSO (3 March 1878 – 17 June 1967) was a British soldier, intelligence officer, and ornithologist. He had a decorated military career spanning Africa and the Middle East. He was credited with creating an ...

Description

The Antipodes Island snipe is similar to the nominate subspecies – the Auckland Island snipe – but differs in being darker above and with yellower underparts.Oliver (1955).

Distribution and habitat

The snipe is endemic to the Antipodes group, which has a total surface area of . It has been recorded not only from the main Antipodes Island, but also from the much smaller Bollons, Archway and Inner Windward Islands. It inhabits the islands’ tussock

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s and

herbfield Herbfields are plant communities dominated by herbaceous plants, especially forbs and grasses. They are found where climatic conditions do not allow large woody plants to grow, such as in subantarctic and alpine tundra environments. Herbfield is ...

s, nesting under tussocks and '' Polystichum vestitum'' shield ferns.Higgins & Davies (1996).

Behaviour

Breeding

Coenocorypha aucklandica meinertzhagenae 387315410

Breeding is seasonal, with egg-laying beginning in mid to late August. The typical clutch size is two. “ Hakawai” aerial displays have been recorded.

Feeding

The snipe have been recorded as feeding on a variety of invertebrates, including

annelid The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to vario ...

amphipod Amphipoda () is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphipod species cur ...

isopod Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

arachnid Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

Status and conservation

The population of the snipe is estimated at 8,000 birds. It has been classified as a range-restricted island endemic with a stable population.Miskelly et al. (2008).

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4775119 Antipodes snipe Birds of the Antipodes Islands Antipodes snipe Endemic birds of New Zealand Taxa named by Walter Rothschild