Chenonetta finschi (Finsch's Duck)

[Melanie]

Well Turvey gives an extinction range from 1442 to 1953. Fact is that there are Maori accounts about these or similar ducks from the late 19th century so that you can assume that these ducks might have survived at least until the 18th century.

[cohiba]

So who reputedly saw the duck in 1953?

[Melanie]

May 1, 2014 14:16:43 GMT cohiba said:

So who reputedly saw the duck in 1953?

Nobody. The last reputedly record might be 1870 (which would be 5 years before the description of this species). (see Tennyson & Martinson: Extinct Birds of New Zealand, p 52)

[Deleted]

May 1, 2014 14:16:43 GMT cohiba said:

So who reputedly saw the duck in 1953?

What I thought was, that this date was calibrated, from bones or so, but I could not find any other information about that.

So, I think it is just an error.

[cohiba]

Okey, thanks Melanie and Noisi, 1953 was so specific that I took it for granted that it had been credibly observed that year, but it was probably gone long before that then.

[Melanie]

Chenonetta finchi will be added to the IUCN Red List (though it is not clear whether it be will 2014.1 or 2014.2). So there must be evidence that it have survived at least post 1500 AD.

www.birdlife.org/globally-threatened-bird-forums/2014/04/additional-changes-to-species-listed-as-extinct-five-extinct-species-are-being-re-categorised-as-not-recognised-and-11-taxa-are-being-newly-recognised-as-extinct-species/

[surroundx]

Worthy, Trevor H. (2004). The Holocene fossil waterfowl fauna of Lake Poukawa, North Island, New Zealand. Tuhinga 15: 77-120.

[surroundx]

Worthy, Trevor H. and Holdaway, Richard N. (2000). Terrestrial fossil vertebrate faunas from inland Hawke's Bay, North Island, New Zealand. Part 1. Records of the Canterbury Museum 14: 89-154.

[surroundx]

Worthy, Trevor H. (1998). A remarkable fossil and archaeological avifauna from Marfells Beach, Lake Grassmere, South Island, New Zealand. Records of the Canterbury Museum 12(1): 79-176.

[Sebbe]

Augustus Hamilton’s fossil collection at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Augustus Hamilton (1853–1913) was a New Zealand ethnologist and naturalist who amassed a significant collection of fossils, mostly of birds, during his career. Today, those fossils are housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). While some fossils have been catalogued and integrated into the collection of the NMNZ, a large part remained unsorted and uncatalogued. The present study brings an integrated view of Hamilton’s collection at the NMNZ, highlighting the most significant fossils. In total, there are 3692 specimen lots collected by Hamilton in the NMNZ representing a large sample of taxa and a wide range of locations around Aotearoa New Zealand. Most fossils are of Holocene age and belong to birds. The collection includes type specimens, circa 250 specimen lots belonging to extinct species, and specimens belonging to otherwise poorly represented species in natural history collections. We hope that our study makes Hamilton’s fossils visible and more readily available for future research.

tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/97731/