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Taxobox poker begin color pink name Moa-nalos
StatusFossilTaxobox image image caption Taxobox begin placement color pinkTaxobox regnum entry taxon AnimaliaTaxobox phylum entry taxon Chordate classis entry taxon AvesTaxobox ordo entry taxon AnseriformesTaxobox familia entry taxon AnatidaeTaxobox end placementTaxobox section subdivision color pink plural_taxon GeneraChelychelynechen
Thambetochen
PtaiochenTaxobox endThe Moa-nalos; are an extinct group of aberrant ducks that used to live on the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific. They were the major herbivores

on the islands for the last 3 million years until they became extinct when humans first reached poker the islands. Description The Moa-nalos were unknown to science, having been wiped out before the arrival of Captain Cook , until the early 1980s, when their sub-fossil remains were discovered in sand dunes on the islands of Molokai and Kauai. Subsequently fossils poker were found on Maui, Oahu and Lanai, the remains found in lava tubes, in lakebeds and sinkholes. They represent four species, Chelychelynechen quassus , Thambetochen xanion , Thambetochen chaulious, and Ptaiochen pau . Chelychelynechen,meaning

turtle-jawed goose, had a large heavy bill like that of a tortoise, while the other two genera, Thambetochen and Ptaiochen all had serrations in their bills known as pseudoteeth. All poker the species were large, weighing between 4 to 7.5 kg, and were flightless.Evolution and EcologySome of the fossils found contained traces of mitochondrial DNA, which were compared to living duck species in order to establish

their place in the duck family, Anatidae. Contrary to expectations, the Moa-nalos were not related to the large geese but instead the dabbling ducks of the genus Anas; . From the DNA it has been estimated that the Moa-nalos reached the Hawaiian Islands about 3.6 million years ago. poker There they increased in size, but must have retained the ability to fly until they had spread to the newer islands. They seem to have lost the power of

flight by the time the main island of Hawaii had emerged from the sea, instead their niche was filled by a goose related to the Hawaiian Goose.The unusual shape and size of the Moa-nalos can be attributed to their role in the ecology of prehistoric poker poker Hawaii. Studies of coprolites found in caves associated with their remains has shown they ate leaves, particularly fronds from ferns, this is backed up by the shapes of their beaks.

This indicates they were the principal browsers on the island, studies of fern species suggest that there was coevolution between the fern species and the Moa-nalos, with the ferns evolving thorn-like prickles on new growth to defend itself. The Moa-nalos themselves filled the niche of herbivore usually filled by mammals such as goats and deer. This has implications for the ecology of Hawaiian Islands today, as a major group of species have been

lost.The Moa-nalos went extinct after the arrival of Polynesian poker settlers in the islands, along with many other species, including a native eagle, owls, several species of flightless ibis and a large number of flightless Rallidae Like island faunas from Mauritius, New Zealand and Polynesia, they were unused to mammals and were easily taken by hunters or the animals that were introduced.ReferencesThe diet and ecology of Hawaiis extinct waterfowl: evidence from Coprolites, H. James, Biological Journal poker of the poker Linnean Society 1997 of the extinct moa-nalos, flightless Hawaiian waterfowl, based on ancient DNA, Sorenson et al, Proceedings of the Royal Society 1999Hawaii native faunaExtinct birdsExtinct animals