Moho (genus)

ʻŌʻō
Kauaʻi ʻōʻō (Moho braccatus),
the last surviving Mohoidae
(extinct c. 1987)
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Suborder: Passeri
Infraorder: Passerida
Family: † Mohoidae
Genus: † Moho
Lesson, 1830
Species

see text.

Moho is a genus of extinct birds in the Hawaiian bird family, Mohoidae, that were endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Members of the genus are known as ʻōʻō in the Hawaiian language. Their plumage was generally striking glossy black; some species had yellowish axillary tufts and other black outer feathers. Most of these species became extinct by habitat loss and by extensive hunting because their plumage were used for the creation of precious ʻaʻahu aliʻi (robes) and ʻahu ʻula (capes) for aliʻi (Hawaiian nobility).[1][2] The Kauaʻi ʻōʻō was the last species of this genus to become extinct, probably a victim of avian malaria.[3]

Until recently, the birds in this genus were thought to belong to the family Meliphagidae (honeyeaters) because they looked and acted so similar to members of that family, including many morphological details. A 2008 study argued, on the basis of a phylogenetic analysis of DNA from museum specimens, that the genera Moho and Chaetoptila do not belong to the Meliphagidae but instead belong to a group that includes the waxwings and the palmchat; they appear especially close to the silky-flycatchers. The authors proposed a family, Mohoidae, for these two extinct genera.[4]

The album O'o by jazz composer John Zorn, released in 2009, is named after these birds.

Taxonomy

The following species belong to this genus (in addition, subfossil remains of a species are known from Maui and known in literature as the Maui ʻōʻō, Moho sp.):

Image Common name Latin name Extinct since
Oʻahu ʻōʻō Moho apicalis c. 1837
Bishop's ʻōʻō
or Molokaʻi ʻōʻō 		Moho bishopi c. 1904
Hawaiʻi ʻōʻō Moho nobilis c. 1934
Kauaʻi ʻōʻō Moho braccatus c. 1987

References

  1. ↑ Flannery, Tim; Peter Schouten (2001). A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals. Atlantic Monthly Press. pp. 30, 110. ISBN 978-0-87113-797-5.
  2. ↑ Ratzel, Friedrich (1896). "The History of Mankind". London: MacMillan. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Fuller, Errol (2001). Extinct Birds. Cornell University Press. pp. 329–337. ISBN 978-0-8014-3954-4.
  4. ↑ Fleischer, Robert C.; James, Helen F.; Olson, Storrs L. (2008). "Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors". Current Biology 18 (24): 1927–31. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.051. PMID 19084408.

Bibliography

External links