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Soft-Tissue Specimens from Pre-European Extinct Birds of New This article was downloaded by: [University of Waikato] On: 16 July 2013, At: 21:00 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tnzr20 Soft-tissue specimens from pre- European extinct birds of New Zealand NJ Rawlence a , JR Wood b , RP Scofield c , C Fraser d & AJD Tennyson e a Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand b Landcare Research, Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand c Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand d Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand e National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongawera, Wellington, New Zealand Published online: 20 Sep 2012. To cite this article: Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (2012): Soft-tissue specimens from pre-European extinct birds of New Zealand, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2012.704878 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2012.704878 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. 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Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions Downloaded by [University of Waikato] at 21:00 16 July 2013 Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand iFirst, 2012, 1Á28 Soft-tissue specimens from pre-European extinct birds of New Zealand NJ Rawlencea*, JR Woodb*, RP Scofieldc, C Fraserd and AJD Tennysone aDepartment of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand; bLandcare Research, Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand; cCanterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand; dOtago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand; eNational Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongawera, Wellington, New Zealand (Received 5 December 2011; final version received 24 May 2012) We provide the first complete review of soft tissue remains from New Zealand birds that became extinct prior to European settlement (c. AD 1800). These rare specimens allow insights into the anatomy and appearance of the birds that are not attainable from bones. Our review includes previously unpublished records of ‘lost’ specimens, and descriptions of recently discovered specimens such as the first evidence of soft tissues from the South Island goose (Cnemiornis calcitrans). Overall, the soft tissue remains are dominated by moa (with specimens from each of the six genera), but also include specimens from Finsch’s duck (Chenonetta finschi) and the New Zealand owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles novaezealandiae). All desiccated soft tissue specimens that have radiocarbon or stratigraphic dates are late Holocene in age, and most have been found in the semi-arid region of Central Otago. Keywords: Aegotheles; birds; Chenonetta; Cnemiornis; Dinornithiformes; extinct; feathers; moa; New Zealand; softtissues Introduction (e.g. Rothschild 1907; Rawlence et al. 2009) The arrival of humans in New Zealand during (Table 1, Supplementary file 5). Such speci- the thirteenth century AD (Wilmshurst et al. mens include two main types: (1) feather and 2008) spelled doom for the native avifauna. skin impressions within fine sediments and Approximately thirty species became extinct, coprolites (preserved dung), and (2) desiccated or had become very rare, prior to the arrival tissues that have been preserved by dry of Europeans in 1769 (Bunce etal. 2009; Gill conditions at their sites of deposition. The etal. 2010). While mostof thesespecies excellent preservation of the latter led to them Downloaded by [University of Waikato] at 21:00 16 July 2013 are known only from bones, rare specimens yielding some of the first proteins and DNA with preserved soft tissues provide an insight isolated from extinct birds (Cooper et al. into how these birds appeared in life 1992; Vickers-Rich etal. 1995). *Corresponding authors. Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Supplementary data available online at www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03036758.2012.704878 Supplementary file 1: Specimens of soft tissues from extant bird species of New Zealand; Supplementary file 2: Transcripts of paraphrased letters previously not available online; Supplementary file 3: Transcripts of paraphrased newspaper articles; Supplementary file 4: Moa feather colour patterns; Supplementary file 5: Specimens of soft tissues from pre-European extinct birds of New Zealand; Supplementary file 6: Radiocarbon dates of desiccated soft tissue remains; Supplementary file 7: Size of preserved moa feathers held in New Zealand and overseas museum collections; Supplementary file 8: Measurements of Finsch’s duck Chenonetta finschi (Van Beneden, 1875) bones from Earnscleugh Cave held in Canterbury Museum (CMC), Christchurch ISSN 0303-6758 print/ISSN 1175-8899 online # 2012 The Royal Society of New Zealand http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2012.704878 http://www.tandfonline.com 2 NJ Rawlence etal . Figure 1 A, B, Localities mentioned in the text, including sites of pre-European extinct bird soft tissue specimens. Specimens of preserved softtissuefrom Moa (Dinornithiformes) extinct New Zealand birds have been sum- South Island giant moa Dinornis robustus Owen, marised by Anderson (1989a), and Worthy 1846 and Holdaway (2002). Here, we presentthe Tiger Hill firstcompletereview of all known specimens, outlining details of their discovery and sub- At Rattray’s Store, Dunedin, on 14 January sequent analysis. In addition to well-known 1864, James Hector examined and measured historically collected specimens, we present the complete skeleton (albeit minus a few previously unpublished reports of soft tissue cervical vertebrae (Buller 1888)), of what is specimens, and provide the first description of now known to be a female South Island giant soft tissues from the South Island goose moa. The specimen had been discovered by (Cnemiornis calcitrans Owen, 1866). Notall gold prospectors near Tiger Hill in the Manu- examples of soft tissue preservation have herikia Valley, Central Otago (Hector 1864) reliable collection and historical data asso- (Fig. 1). Hector (1864) made measurements and ciated with them. In this review, we discuss notes on the condition of the remains, record- only specimens with robust associated histor- ing that ‘mainly all the ligaments of the left ical data, though many more are listed in knee are present ...the fibula, the skin is also Downloaded by [University of Waikato] at 21:00 16 July 2013 Supplementary file 5. Also, we do not discuss present and again on the foot of the same leg the range of different feather types that have the sole of the foot and ligaments’. Buller been found in dry crevices and rockshelter (1888) noted that integument and feathers still sediments, often in association with moa adhered to the sacrum, and the interarticular feathers. These include feathers from extant cartilages were preserved. Dallas (1865) made birds (Wood 2006, 2008a), butmay also the first description of moa feathers based on include feathers from pre-European extinct the specimen, noting an accessory plume com- taxa. There are only three reported instances parable to those of emu (Dromaius spp.) and of desiccation in extant birds, from the cassowary (Casuarius spp.), and that the feath- Megamania and Nettlebed (Mount Arthur) ers had ‘barbs consisting of slender flattened cave systems (Fig. 1) (see Supplementary file 1 fibres, bearing long silky and very delicate for further information). barbules, without any trace of barbicels’. Soft-tissue specimens from pre-European extinct birds of New Zealand 3 The circumstances surrounding the discov- is housed in the YMAG (2004.20) (Supplemen- ery of the specimen were outlined in a letter tary file 5). Unfortunately, the majority of soft dated February 1864, from James Hector to tissues described above have been separated Richard Owen (Owen 1866) (see Supplemen- from the specimen sometime in the past and are tary file 2). The bones were found after a shaft presumed lost(Isla Gladstone,pers. comm., was dug into a river terrace composed of sand 2011). YMAG has found no reference to when and gravel. Hector thought that the preserva- or why the separation was carried out. tion of soft tissues was due to the favourable position of the remains within the surrounding Knobby Range matrix. However, it is more
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