View source for Moa-nalo

{{short description|Extinct tribe of birds}}
{{for|the unrelated extinct birds from New Zealand|Moa}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Holocene]]
| image = Chelychelynechen quassus.jpg
| image_caption = Artist's conception of ''[[Chelychelynechen]] quassus''
| taxon = Thambetochenini
| authority = 
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = ''[[Chelychelynechen]]''<br>
''[[Thambetochen]]''<br>
''[[Ptaiochen]]''
}}

The '''moa-nalo''' are a group of [[extinct]] aberrant, [[goose]]-like [[duck]]s that lived on the larger [[Hawaiian Islands]], except [[Hawaii (island)|Hawai{{okina}}i]] itself, in the Pacific. They were the major [[herbivore]]s on most of these islands until they became extinct after human settlement.

==Description==
The moa-nalo (the name literally means "lost fowl"; the plural and the singular are the same) were long unknown to [[science]], having been wiped out before the arrival of [[James Cook]] (1778). In the early 1980s, their [[subfossil]] remains were discovered in [[sand]] [[dune]]s on the islands of [[Molokai|Moloka{{okina}}i]] and [[Kauai|Kaua{{okina}}i]]. Subsequently, bones were found on [[Maui]], [[Oahu|O{{okina}}ahu]], and [[Lanai|Lāna{{okina}}i]], in [[lava tube]]s, lake beds, and [[sinkhole]]s. They represent four [[species]] in three [[genus|genera]] so far:

* ''Chelychelynechen quassus'' ([[turtle-jawed moa-nalo]]) from Kaua{{okina}}i
* ''Ptaiochen pau'' ([[small-billed moa-nalo]]) from Maui
* ''Thambetochen xanion'' ([[O'ahu moa-nalo]]) from O{{okina}}ahu
* ''Thambetochen chauliodous'' ([[Maui Nui large-billed moa-nalo]]) from Maui, Lāna{{okina}}i and Moloka{{okina}}i ([[Maui Nui]])

''Chelychelynechen'', meaning turtle-jawed goose, had a large, heavy bill like that of a [[tortoise]], while the other two genera, ''Thambetochen'' and ''Ptaiochen'', all had serrations in their bills known as pseudoteeth, similar to those of [[merganser]]s. All species were [[Flightless bird|flightless]] and large, with an average mass of {{convert|4|-|7.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.

==Evolution==
[[Image:Thambetochen xanion.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of ''Thambetochen xanion'']]
[[File:Thambetochen xanion (1).jpg|thumb|Rostrum and sternum of ''Thambetochen xanion'']]
Some moa-nalo fossils have been found to contain traces of [[mitochondrial DNA]] which were compared to living duck species in order to establish their place in the duck family, [[Anatidae]]. Contrary to the expectations of some scientists, the moa-nalo were not related to the large [[geese]] ([[Anserinae]]), such as the surviving [[nēnē]], but instead to the [[dabbling duck]]s of the genus ''[[Anas]]'', which includes the [[mallard]]. The present DNA analysis' resolution is not high enough to determine their relationships to different species of ''[[Anas]]'', but [[biogeography]] strongly suggests that their closest living relative is the widespread [[Pacific black duck]].<ref name=Sorenson>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1098/rspb.1999.0907|pmc = 1690346|title = Relationships of the extinct moa-nalos, flightless Hawaiian waterfowl, based on ancient DNA|journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences|volume = 266|issue = 1434|pages = 2187–2193|year = 1999|last1 = Sorenson|first1 = Michael D.|last2 = Cooper|first2 = Alan|last3 = Paxinos|first3 = Ellen E.|last4 = Quinn|first4 = Thomas W.|last5 = James|first5 = Helen F.|last6 = Olson|first6 = Storrs L.|last7 = Fleischer|first7 = Robert C.|pmid = 10649633}}</ref>
<!-- From the [[DNA sequence]]s it has been estimated that the ancestors of the moa-nalo reached the Hawaiian Islands about 3.6 million years ago (calibration used may recently have turned out to be erroneous - In that case, cite a source for the problem), by which time the genus ''Anas'' was already distributed worldwide. There they increased in size, but must have retained the ability to fly until they had spread to the newer islands. They seem to have lost the power of flight by the time the main island of Hawai{{okina}}i had emerged from the sea (400,000 years ago); there, their [[ecological niche|niche]] was filled by one or two species of now extinct giant ''[[Branta]]'' goose presumably related to the surviving [[Nene (bird)|nēnē]]. -->

==Ecology==
[[Image:Cyanea platyphylla.jpg|thumb|A sapling of ''Cyanea platyphylla'', showing the prickles that probably evolved as a defense against feeding by moa-nalo.]]
[[File:Chelychelynechen quassus by Stanton F. Fink.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of ''Chelychelynechen quassus'']]
The unusual bill shape and size of the moa-nalo can be attributed to their role in the [[ecology]] of prehistoric Hawai{{okina}}i. A study of [[coprolite]]s (fossil dung) of ''Thambetochen chauliodous'' found in Pu{{okina}}u Naio Cave on lowland Maui has shown they were [[Folivore|folivorous]], at least in [[Hawaiian tropical dry forests#Prehistoric dry forests|dry shrub]] or [[mesic forest]] [[Habitat (ecology)|habitat]]s eating particularly fronds from [[fern]]s (possibly ''[[Asplenium nidus]]'' or ''[[Dryopteris wallichiana]]''). This conclusion is backed up by the shapes of their beaks (James & Burney 1997). This indicates they were the principal [[Browsing (herbivory) |browser]]s on the island.
The presence of prominent spines on the leaves and soft young stems of several [[Hawaiian lobelioids]] in the genus ''[[Hawaiian lobelioids#Cyanea|Cyanea]]''—unusual in an island flora where such defenses are frequently lost, as in the ''[[Rubus hawaiensis|{{okina}}ākala]]'' (Hawaiian [[Rubus|raspberry]])—suggests that the ''Cyanea'' evolved these thornlike prickles on new growth because they protect against browsing by the moa-nalo. The moa-nalo themselves filled the [[ecological niche|niche]] of herbivore usually filled by mammals such as [[goat]]s and [[deer]], or the [[giant tortoise]]s of [[Galápagos]] and other [[archipelago]]es. This has implications for the ecology of Hawaiian Islands today, as a major group of species have been lost.

Like island [[taxa]] from [[Mauritius]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Polynesia]], the moa-nalo were unused to [[mammal]]s and were easily predated on by hunters or the animals that were introduced and became [[feral]], such as [[domestic pig]]s.

==See also==
* ''[[Branta rhuax]]'', an extinct giant species of goose that lived contemporaneously on the island of [[Hawai'i]]
* [[Island gigantism]]
* [[Late Quaternary prehistoric birds]]
* [[Moa]], enormous extinct flightless [[ratite]]s, formerly the largest herbivores in New Zealand

==References==

{{Reflist}}
* '''James''', Helen F. & '''Burney''', David A. (1997): The diet and ecology of Hawaii's extinct flightless waterfowl: evidence from coprolites. ''[[Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|Biol. J. Linn. Soc.]]'' '''62'''(2): 279–297. [https://archive.today/20130105055444/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119168132/abstract HTML abstract]
==Further reading==
* {{cite book| last = Lewis| first = Daniel| title = Belonging on an Island: Birds, Extinction and Evolution in Hawaii| year = 2018| publisher = Yale University Press, New Haven, CT| isbn = 978-0-3002-2964-6}}. Chapter 1 of the book is about the moa-nalo, and avian paleontologists working in Hawaii.
* '''Slikas''', Beth (2003): [https://web.archive.org/web/20160411191236/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1690346/pdf/10649633.pdf Hawaiian Birds: Lessons from a Rediscovered Avifauna]. ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' '''120'''(4): 953–960. [[Digital Object Identifier|DOI]]: 10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0953:HBLFAR]2.0.CO;2* '''Sorenson''' ''et al.'' (1999): Relationships of the extinct moa-nalos, flightless Hawaiian waterfowl, based on ancient DNA. ''Proceedings of the Royal Society''.

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1471857}}

[[Category:Anatinae]]
[[Category:Holocene extinctions]]
[[Category:Extinct flightless birds]]
[[Category:Extinct birds of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Late Quaternary prehistoric birds]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Hawaii]]