Fossil birds from the Hawaiian Islands: evidence for wholesale extinction by man before western contact

Author:

Olson, Storrs L., James, Helen F.

Title:

Fossil birds from the Hawaiian Islands: evidence for wholesale extinction by man before western contact

Periodical:

Science

Year:

1982

Volume:

217

Pages:

633-635

Subject:

Birds fossil Birds extinction

Summary:

Tens of thousands of fossil bird bones have been found in various geological settings on five of the main Hawaiian Islands since 1971. These include the remains of at least 39 species of endemic land birds and one species of seabird that are now known only from fossil remains. Of these, only three have been previously named. While a general overview had been completed of the fossil deposits and their faunas, systematic revisions and descriptions of new taxa had not been completed. As a result, the role of Polynesians, who colonized the Hawaiian Islands by 600 A.D., (and perhaps as early as 400 A.D.), is reported here with regard to the disappearance of native birds.

Label:

Birds - General

Date:

1982

Collection:

Periodicals