__NOTOC__ ''Moho'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of extinct

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s in the Hawaiian bird family,

Mohoidae Mohoidae, also known as the Hawaiian honeyeaters, is a family of Hawaiian species of recently extinct, nectarivorous songbirds in the genera '' Moho'' (ōō) and '' Chaetoptila'' (kioea). These now extinct birds form their own family, represent ...

, that were

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found else ...

to the Hawaiian Islands. Members of the genus are known as ''ōō'' in the Hawaiian language. Their plumage was generally striking glossy black; some species had yellowish axillary tufts and other black outer feathers. Most of these species became extinct by habitat loss, the introduction of mammalian predators (like rats, pigs, and mongooses), and by extensive hunting (their plumage was used for the creation of precious ''aahu alii'' (robes) and ''ahu ula'' (capes) for '' alii'' (Hawaiian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

). The Kauai ōō was the last species of this genus to become extinct, probably a victim of

avian malaria Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds, caused by parasite species belonging to the genera '' Plasmodium'' and '' Hemoproteus'' (phylum Apicomplexa, class Haemosporidia, family Plasmoiidae). The disease is transmitted by a dipteran vecto ...

. Until recently, the birds in this genus were thought to belong to the family Meliphagidae ( honeyeaters) because they looked and acted so similar to members of that family, including many morphological details. A 2008 study argued, on the basis of a

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis of DNA from museum specimens, that the genera ''Moho'' and ''

Chaetoptila The kioea (''Chaetoptila angustipluma'') was a endemic Hawaiian bird that became extinct around the mid-19th century. Description The kioea was a large bird, about long, with a long, slightly curved bill. What distinguished the kioea from othe ...

'' do not belong to the Meliphagidae but instead belong to a group that includes the

waxwing The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus ''Bombycilla''. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, ...

s and the

palmchat The palmchat (''Dulus dominicus'') is a small, long-tailed passerine bird, the only species in the genus ''Dulus'' and the family Dulidae endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti). It is rela ...

; they appear especially close to the

silky-flycatcher The silky-flycatchers are a small family, Ptiliogonatidae, of passerine birds. The family contains only four species in three genera. They were formerly lumped with waxwings and hypocolius in the family Bombycillidae, and they are listed in tha ...

s. The authors proposed a family, Mohoidae, for these two extinct genera. The album ''

O'o ''O'o'' is an album by John Zorn released in 2009. It the second album by The Dreamers following their 2008 release '' The Dreamers''. The title refers to the '' ʻōʻō'' of the Hawaiian Islands, the last living members of the now-extinct son ...

'' by jazz composer John Zorn, released in 2009, is named after these birds.

Taxonomy

The following species belong to this genus (in addition, subfossil remains of a species are known from Maui and known in literature as the Maui ʻōʻō, ''Moho sp''.):

References

Bibliography

*Day, David (1981): ''The Doomsday Book of Animals'' *Greenway, James C. (1967): ''Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World''

External links

Short description of the Moho species
(French) * *
Naturalis - Hawaii Ōō
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1786903 Bird genera Holocene extinctions Endemic fauna of Hawaii Extinct birds of Hawaii Bird extinctions since 1500 Taxa named by René Lesson