Gallirallus Lafresnaye, 1841

Kirchman, Jeremy J. & Steadman, David W., 2006, Rails (Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric archaeological sites in Western Oceania, Zootaxa 1316, pp. 1-31 : 7-8

Genus Gallirallus Lafresnaye, 1841

We refer the fossils listed below to Gallirallus rather than to other genera of Oceanic rails on the basis of these characters (see also Kirchman and Steadman 2005, 2006a, 2006b).

Rostrum: long, narrow, and shallow with elongate nares. Mandible: cotyla lateralis narrow and concave; fossa for condylus medialis quadratum (the main articulating surface of os articulare) shallow and wide. Coracoid: acrocoracoid extends medially over the sulcus musculo supracoracoidei such that the foramen triosseum is less open cranially. Scapula: facies articularis clavicularis relatively small and oriented at a more obtuse angle from corpus scapulae. Humerus: crista pectoralis thicker proximally in proximal aspect; corpus humeri in dorsal aspect uniformly stout, rather than stouter proximally; tuberculum supracondylare ventrale low, making the condylus ventralis more contiguous with the epicondylus ventralis; fossa pneumotricipitalis deep and wide with prominent crus ventrale fossae. Ulna: thin in cranial aspect with rectangular (rather than rounded) margo cranialis. Pelvis: ala preacetabularis ilii broadly continuous with crista dorsalis of synsacrum. Femur: distal end of corpus femoris becomes gradually wider; condylus medialis subcircular in medial aspect; impressio ansae musculo iliofibularis abuts sulcus fibularis; rotular groove broad. Tibiotarsus: cranio­lateral and cranio­medial margins of corpus tibiotarsi rounded rather than sharp; impressio ligamentum collateralis medialis deep and wide; facies articularis femoris large; depressio epicondylaris lateralis deep; condylus medialis subcircular in medial aspect. Tarsometatarsus: corpus tarsometatarsi much wider than deep; medial sulcus hypotarsi not enclosed; fossa parahypotarsalis medialis shallow in proximal aspect; fossa metatarsi I short and shallow; crista plantaris mediana slopes gradually (not steeply) to hypotarsus; distal end of trochlea metatarsi tertii sloped toward medial trochlea; cotyla medialis is rectangular in proximal aspect with flat (not rounded) dorsal margin. Pedal phalanges are referred on the basis of size and proportions (generally stouter than in Porzana , Poliolimnas , or Porphyrio ).

Here we review the fossil material from Micronesia and Melanesia, island­by­island, in each case referring the specimens to a known species of Gallirallus or using them as a basis for describing a new species. Series of skeletons of the volant Gallirallus philippensis and flightless G. owstoni form the primary basis for our comparisons of the rail fossils from the Mariana Islands.