Apteryx littoralis

Apteryx littoralis is an extinct species of kiwi from New Zealand's North Island. The species was first described in 2021 based on the holotype (NMNZ S.36731), a complete left tarsometatarsus that was found in the Pleistocene (Calabrian)-aged Rangitikei Formation (Kaimatira Pumice Sand).[1]

Apteryx littoralis
Temporal range: Pleistocene,
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Struthioniformes
Family:
Apterygidae
Genus:
Apteryx
Species:
†A. littoralis
Binomial name
†Apteryx littoralis
Tennyson & Tomotani, 2021

A. littoralis is the second oldest record of kiwis known to date and is also the only known extinct species belonging to the Apteryx genus and is one of two known extinct kiwi species - the other is Proapteryx micromeros. A. littoralis most closely resembles A. rowi and A. mantelli in size and shape, but differs in being stouter, with proportionally narrower proximal and distal ends.[1] A. littoralis was also likely around the same size as A. mantelli, making it around 40 cm (16 in) tall when fully grown.[1] Based on this, A. littoralis demonstrates a relatively conservative kiwi morphology since the mid-Pleistocene.

References
  1. Tennyson AJ, Tomotani BM (2021). "A new fossil species of kiwi (Aves: Apterygidae) from the mid-Pleistocene of New Zealand". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. Online edition: 1–9. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1916011.


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