Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is likely to have become Extinct in the late 19th century from a combination of predation by rats, cats and pigs, habitat destruction and hunting for consumption.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Trend justification
Little is known about this species, with only the type skin and two incomplete skeletons known with certainty (Beintema 1972). The species was apparently abundant until 1852 but rare by 1873 (Taylor and van Perlo 1998). The species persisted until at least 1861 when the last specimens were recorded (Sclater 1861) and none were seen in an expedition in 1873 (Sclater 1881). The species presumably went extinct around this period, with hunting, nest predation, and severe deforestation all cited as contributors to its extinction (Hume 2017).
Gallinula nesiotis was endemic to Tristan da Cunha (to UK).
Its ecology is unknown, but is likely to have been similar to G. comeri (Hume 2017). Early reports suggest it may have been widespread on the island, occurring "on the table-land as well as on the low ground" (Carmichael 1818).
It became extinct as a result of hunting, predation of nests and young by introduced rats, cats and pigs, deforestation to promote grazing, and habitat destruction by fire (Taylor and van Perlo 1998, Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Taylor, J., Brooks, T., Mahood, S., Richardson, L., Symes, A.
Contributors
Ryan, P.G.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Tristan Moorhen Gallinula nesiotis. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tristan-moorhen-gallinula-nesiotis on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.