Porzana menehune, new species
(Figs. 15H, 16B)
"very small Molokai rail" Olson and James, 1982b:36; 1984:772.
Holotype.' Right tarsometatarsus, USNM 385947 (Fig. 15H). Collected July or
August 1976 by Storrs L. Olson and others.
Type locality: Site 20, Ilio Point, Molokai, Hawaiian Islands.
Distribution: Molokai: Moomomi and Ilio Point dunes.
Etymology: From contemporary Hawaiian, menehune, the legendary leprechaun-
like little people of the Hawaiian Islands, in reference to the size of this,
the smallest known species of rail, living or extinct. The menehune legend is
probably mostly a post-European invention incorporating much of non-Polynesian
tradition. The best explanation of the origin of the word seems to be in
manahune, a term used elsewhere in Polynesia for certain lower classes of people.
It is not difficult to envision a change in meaning from people of low social status
to those of low physical stature. For more and diverse opinions on the subject,
however, see Luomala (1951), whose seemingly jocular tone, whether intended
or not, certainly befits the subject. The name is a noun in apposition.
Measurements (mm) ofholotype: Length, 18.6; proximal width, 3.1; shaft width
at midpoint, 1.6; distal width, 3.2.
Paratypes: Premaxillary symphysis and most of dorsal bar, USNM 386069;
right mandibular articulations, USNM 386070, 386071; right humeri, USNM
385963, 385966; left humeri, USNM 385965 (Fig. 16B), 386038, 386039; right
ulnae, USNM 385976 (Fig. 16B), 385977, 386051, 386059; left ulnae, USNM
385975, 385978, 385979, 386053, 386054, 386056; right carpometacarpi, USNM
385983 (Fig. 16B), 385988; left carpometacarpi, USNM 385986, 385987, 385989;
left femora, USNM 385956, 385990, 386072; left tibiotarsi, USNM 385923,
386091; right tarsometatarsi, USNM 385946, 385948, 385949, 385951, 386073;
left tarsometatarsi, USNM 385950, 385952, 386074.
Measurements (mm) ofparatypes: (These are in the same sequence as the preceding.)--
Premaxillary symphysis: length, 5.0. Humerus: length, 13.0, 13.5, 14.0,
13.5, 13.4. Ulna: length, 9.3, 9.1, 9.2, 9.1, 9.1, 9.1, 9.3, 8.8, 8.9, 8.4. Carpometacarpus:
length, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.3, 6.2. Femur: length, 21.7, 22.2, 21.5; proximal
width 3.5, 3.7, 3.6; shaft width at midpoint, 1.3, 1.3, 1.3; distal width, 3.3, 3.6,
3.5. Tibiotarsus: length, 29.0, 31.4; distal width 2.8, 2.9. Tarsometatarsus: length,
17.1, 18.7, 16.4, 18.4, 18.2, 18.7, 18.0, 17.5; proximal width, 2.9, 3.1, 2.8, 2.8,
3.1, 3.1, 3.0, 3.0; shaft width at midpoint, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.7, 1.6, 1.5, 1.6, 1.6;
distal width, 3.1, 3.2, 2.9, 3.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.
Diagnosis: Smaller than P. ziegleri, P. keplerorum, or any other known species
of Rallidae. Humerus with the shaft relatively straighter and more robust than in
P. ziegleri or P. keplerorum. The carpometacarpus differs from that of P. ziegleri
or P. keplerorum in having a deep notch proximal to the alular metacarpal on
the dorsal edge of the external trochlea, giving the latter a hooked appearance
(Fig. 16B).
Remarks: See P. keplerorum. That this is the only flightless species of Rallidae
known so far from Molokai may be a result of ecological bias as the collecting
sites are situated in the driest part of the island (Olson and James 1982b).
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