Tahiti Rail

SCI Name:  Gallirallus pacificus
Protonym:  Rallus pacificus Syst.Nat. 1 pt2 p.717
Taxonomy:  Gruiformes / Rallidae / Gallirallus
Taxonomy Code:  tahrai1
Type Locality:  Tahiti.
Author:  Gmelin, JF
Publish Year:  1789
IUCN Status:  Extinct

DEFINITIONS

GALLIRALLUS
(Rallidae; † Weka G. australis) Portmanteau of genera Gallus Brisson 1760, fowl, and Rallus Linnaeus, 1758, rail; "Genus Rallus, sub-genus Galli-rallus de Lafr. — Caractère du sous-genre: Rostrum Ralli, sectionis Crex (Bechst.), elongatum, compressum, rectum, culmine supra nares paulisper depresso, apice parum arcuato; nares mediocres, ovalæ, in fovea ampla plus quam dimidiam partem rostri occupante, ad apicem anticum et medium rostrum apertæ, hac fovea membrana obtecta; pedes ambulatorii, gallinacei, validi, tarsis robustissimis, digitis totis liberis, prælongis et fortibus; pollice mediocri uti apud Rallos tarso inserto, unguibus mediocribus parum curvatis; alæ brevissimæ, obtusissimæ, mollissimæ ad volatum ut versimile paucissimæ aptæ; cauda satis elongata, conica, exilis, e pennis mollibus formata; ptilosis tota lanuginosa et mollissima.  Gallirallus brachypterus de Lafr." (de La Fresnaye 1841); "Galli-rallus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., 1841, p. 234 [sic= 243].  Type, by monotypy, Gallirallus brachypterus Lafresnaye = Rallus troglodytes Gmelin." (Peters, 1934, II, 177); "GALLIRALLUS Lafresnaye, 1841  M  — Gallirallus brachypterus Lafresnaye, 1841; type by monotypy = Rallus australis Sparrman, 1786  ...  Includes "troglodytes"" (Dickinson and Remsen (eds.), H. & M. Complete Checklist, 4th ed., 2013, 1 (Non-passerines), p. 134).
Synon. Brachypteryx, Ocydromus, Sylvestrornis, Tricholimnas.

pacificus
L. pacificus  peaceful  < pax, pacis  peace; facere  to make.  The Pacific Ocean was so-named by the Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães in 1520, contrasting its calm waters with the stormy seas of Cape Horn.  The toponym refers to islands in the Pacific Ocean as well as localities on Pacific Ocean coasts.
● Tahiti; ex “Pacific Parrot, var. B” of Latham 1781 (‡syn. Cyanoramphus zealandicus).
● New Holland; ex “Black-backed Gull” (pt.) of Latham 1785, and “Pacific Gull” of Latham 1801 (Larus).
● Erroneous TL. Islands of the South Sea (= Norton Sound, Alaska); ex “Pacific Crow” of Latham 1781 (subsp. Perisoreus canadensis).