New Zealand Pelican

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The New Zealand Pelican is the name given to fossil remains of pelicans found in fossil deposits in New Zealand.

These fossils were first found in 1930, and were initially considered a subspecies (Pelicanus conspicillatus novaezealandidiae) of the Australian Pelican (Pelicanus conspicillatus), based on size differences. It was raised by some taxonomists to a full species in 1981 (Pelicanus novaezealandidiae), however the paucity of pelican remains in an otherwise rich fossil record lead most scientists to conclude that it represents examples of vagrant (lost) Australian Pelicans. It has also been observed that New Zealand lacks the fish diversity and numbers to sustain a large fish-eating waterbird. In some migration events Australian Pelicans have been recorded as far away as Fiji, and have been seen in New Zealand.

[edit] Reference

  • Worthy, Trevor H., & Holdaway, Richard N. (2002) The Lost World of the Moa, Indiana University Press:Bloomington, ISBN 0-253-34034-9


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