Ascension Crake

Ascension Rail ( Mundia elpenor )

The Ascension Rail ( Mundia elpenor ) is an extinct flightless Rallenart that was endemic to the remote Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean.

Description

The Ascension - Rail, has become known only through a description and a drawing of the explorers Peter Mundy from 1656 as well as by bones, found the ornithologist Philip Ashmole and Storrs Lovejoy Olson in the 1960s and 1970s to Ascension. According to Mundy's description of the species was about 22 cm long, mottled gray or black with a white spot pattern.

Taxonomy

Previously, the Ascension Rail was placed in the genus Atlantisia together with the Saint Helena Rail and the Atlantis Rail. Recent studies of bone have shown, however, that these squacco types were not more closely related to each other and so the Ascension Rail was classified in honor of the discoverer in the genus Mundia.

Occurrence and life

The Ascension Rail apparently lived in the semi-arid zone in the interior of Ascension and fed mainly on eggs of the Sooty Tern ( Onychoprion fuscata ). She had strong legs, with which they could run nimbly.

Extinction

Your extinction is probably due to rats, which were introduced in the 18th century on Ascension. Maybe but it has also survived until the introduction of cats in 1815.