New Zealand quail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

 **†*Coturnix novaezelandiae***
 *Coturnix novaezelandiae*
novaezelandiae*Quoy & Gaimard, 1830*

The **New Zealand quail** (*Coturnix novaezelandiae*), or ***koreke*** (the Māori name), has been extinct since 1875. The male and female were similar, except the female was lighter. The first scientist to describe it was Sir Joseph Banks when he visited New Zealand on James Cook's first voyage. Terrestrial and temperate, this species inhabited lowland tussock grassland and open fernlands.[2] The first specimen to be obtained by a European was collected in 1827 by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard on Dumont D'Urville's voyage.

Research was conducted between 2007 and 2009 into whether the quails on Tiritiri Matangi Island – which was spared the worst impact of introduced predators – might be a surviving population of this species, or *koreke*-brown quail (*Coturnix ypsilophora*) hybrids.[3] However, a genetic study showed instead that the quail on Tiritiri Matangi are Australian brown quail, *Coturnix ypsilophora*.[4] Sequences were derived for all quail species within the Australian and New Zealand *Coturnix sp*. complex.[5]

It has sometimes been considered conspecific with the Australian stubble quail *Coturnix pectoralis*, which would then be named *Coturnix novaezelandiae pectoralis* as the New Zealand bird was described first. However, the genetic analysis showed that they are separate though closely related species.[6]

* Illustration
* Restoration of the Chatham rail and the New Zealand quail from 1907

## References[edit]

1. **^**
2. **^**
3. **^** NZ quail may not be extinct say scientists after Haurauki Gulf island discovery, *Massey News*, 24 March 2007.
4. **^** Scientists nail quail mystery — Tiri quails found to be Aussie imports, *Massey News*, 23 October 2009.
5. **^** Seabrook-Davison, M.; Huynen, L.; Lambert, D.M.; and Brunton D.H. (2009). Ancient DNA Resolves Identity and Phylogeny of New Zealand's Extinct and Living Quail (Coturnix sp.). *PLoS ONE* 4(7), e6400. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006400 A neighbour-joining phylogenetic distance tree was constructed in PAUP4 with 1000 bootstrap replications to determine the strength of groupings. The sequences used for the tree were derived from 3 separate mitochondrial control region sequences..
6. **^** Seabrook-Davison, M.; Huynen, L.; Lambert, D.M.; and Brunton D.H. (2009). Ancient DNA Resolves Identity and Phylogeny of New Zealand's Extinct and Living Quail (Coturnix sp.). *PLoS ONE* 4(7), e6400. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006400.

## External links[edit]

* Koreke, the New Zealand Quail (with pictures, article, taxonomy, & description).
* 3D view of specimens RMNH 110.051 and RMNH 110.052 at Naturalis, Leiden (requires QuickTime browser plugin).
* *New Zealand Quail / Koreke. Coturnix novaezelandiae*. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book *Extinct Birds of New Zealand*, by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006
* *The Quail (male and female) Coturnix Novae Zealandie* by Johannes Keulemans in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
* *New Zealand Quail* by George Lodge, 1913 in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

* Birds portal
* New Zealand portal

Categories:

* IUCN Red List extinct species
* Coturnix
* Extinct birds of New Zealand
* Bird extinctions since 1500
* Species made extinct by human activities
* Birds described in 1830
* Species endangered by disease