Gallirallus is a genus of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. The genus is characterised by an ability to colonise relatively small and isolated islands and thereafter to evolve flightless forms, many of which became extinct following Polynesian settlement.
Taxonomy The genus Gallirallus was introduced in 1841 by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye to accommodate a single species, Gallirallus brachypterus Lafresnaye. This is the type species. The name is a junior synonym of Rallus australis Sparman, 1786, the weka. The genus name is a portmanteau of the genera Gallus that had been introduced by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 for the fowl, and the genus Rallus that had been introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the rails.
The genus Gallirallus now includes species that were formerly placed in the genera Aptenorallus, Habroptila, Eulabeornis, Cabalus, and Hypotaenidia. Based on genetic analyses that showed relatively shallow branch lengths and sometimes conflicting relationships, the five genera have been subsumed into a broad Gallirallus.
Description Many of the rails, including the well-known weka of New Zealand, are flightless or nearly so. Many of the resultant flightless island endemics became extinct after the arrival of humans, which hunted these birds for food, introduced novel predators like rats, dogs or pigs, and upset the local ecosystems. A common Polynesian name of these rails, mainly relatives of G. philippensis, is veka/weka (in English, this name is generally limited to Gallirallus australis).
On the other hand, Gallirallus species are (with the exception of the weka) notoriously retiring and shy birds with often drab coloration.
Species The genus contains 18 species. Of these 6 have become extinct in historical times. Image Common name Scientific name DistributionCalayan railGallirallus calayanensis(formerly in Aptenorallus)Calayan Island (far northern Philippines)Invisible railGallirallus wallacii(formerly in Habroptila)Halmahera (northern Moluccas)Chestnut railGallirallus castaneoventris(formerly in Eulabeornis)Aru Islands (southwest of New Guinea) and coastal north AustraliaWekaGallirallus australis North Island, South Island, Stewart Island and satellites (New Zealand)†New Caledonian railGallirallus lafresnayanus(formerly in Cabalus)forest of New Caledonia (probably extinct; no definite records since 1890)Lord Howe woodhenGallirallus sylvestris(formerly in Hypotaenidia)Lord Howe Island (east of Australia)Okinawa railGallirallus okinawae(formerly in Hypotaenidia)forest and edge from lowlands to hills of northern Okinawa (Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan)†Tahiti railGallirallus pacificus(formerly in Hypotaenidia)formerly Tahiti and adjacent eastern Society Islands; extinct, last reported 1800Buff-banded railGallirallus philippensis(formerly in Hypotaenidia)Philippines to Australia and Pacific islands†Chatham railGallirallus modestus(formerly in Cabalus)formerly Chatham Islands; extinct, last reported 1900†Dieffenbach's railGallirallus dieffenbachii(formerly in Hypotaenidia)formerly Chatham Islands; extinct, last reported 1900Pink-legged railGallirallus insignis(formerly in Hypotaenidia)forest of New Britain (southeastern Bismarck Archipelago)Woodford's railGallirallus woodfordi(formerly in Hypotaenidia)Solomon Islands†Bar-winged railGallirallus poecilopterus(formerly in Eulabeornis)formerly Viti Levu and Ovalau, Fiji (western Polynesia); extinct, last reported 1973Guam railGallirallus owstoni(formerly in Hypotaenidia)forest of Guam (southern Mariana Islands); extinct in the wild until successfully reintroduced into Rota (southernmost Northern Mariana Islands) and Cocos Islands (just south of Guam)†Wake Island railGallirallus wakensis(formerly in Hypotaenidia)formerly Wake Island; extinct, last reported 1944Barred railGallirallus torquatus(formerly in Hypotaenidia)Philippines, islets off Sabah (Malaysia), Sulawesi and satellites and west New Guinea Roviana railGallirallus rovianae(formerly in Hypotaenidia)New Georgia islands (west-central Solomon Islands)
Species extinct before A.D. 1500 Given recent taxonomic proposals that the weka is the only extant Gallirallus species, it is possible these may also belong to different genera, but are presently retained in Gallirallus due to uncertainty. Astolfo's rail, Gallirallus astolfoi Nuku Hiva rail, Gallirallus epulare New Ireland rail, Gallirallus ernstmayri Ua Huka rail, Gallirallus gracilitibia Niue rail, Gallirallus huiatua Tinian rail, Gallirallus pendiculentus Aguiguan rail, Gallirallus pisonii Mangaia rail, Gallirallus ripleyi Tahuata rail, Gallirallus roletti Tubuai rail, Gallirallus steadmani Huahine rail, Gallirallus storrsolsoni Rota rail, Gallirallus temptatus Eua rail, Gallirallus vekamatolu – possibly survived to the early 19th centuryA similar bird was found to live on nearby Vava‘u in 1793. Given that G. vekamatolu was flightless, this may just as well represent a related species. Hiva Oa rail, ?Gallirallus sp. Norfolk Island rail, Gallirallus sp. - possibly survived to the early 19th century Vava'u rail, Gallirallus [Hypotaenidia] vavauensis
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