Little spotted kiwi

Little spotted kiwi
Foraging at Zealandia EcoSanctuary, Wellington
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Apterygiformes
Family: Apterygidae
Genus: Apteryx
Species:
A. owenii
Binomial name
Apteryx owenii
Subspecies
The distribution of little spotted kiwi.

Predator-free islands:

  1. Hen Island
  2. Tiritiri Matangi
  3. Red Mercury Island
  4. Motuihe Island
  5. Kapiti Island
  6. Long Island
  7. Anchor Island
  8. Chalky Island

Mainland:

A. Shakespear Open Sanctuary
B. Cape Sanctuary
C. Zealandia
Synonyms
List
  • Apteryx mollis Potts 1873[4]
  • Apteryx fusca Rowley 1875 non Potts 1873
  • Pseudapteryx gracilis Lydekker 1891
  • Apteryx oweni occidentalis Rothschild 1893
  • Apteryx occidentalis (Rothschild 1893) Buller 1905
  • Apteryx australis occidentalis (Rothschild 1893)
  • Kiwi owenii (Gould 1847) Verheyen 1960
  • Stictapteryx owenii (Gould 1847) Iredale & Mathews 1926
  • Stictapteryx owenii owenii (Gould 1847) Iredale & Mathews 1926
  • Stictapteryx owenii iredalei Mathews 1935

The little spotted kiwi or little grey kiwi[2] (Apteryx owenii) is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family, Apterygidae. It is the smallest of the five kiwi species, at about 0.9 to 1.9 kg (2–4+1⁄4 lb), about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New Zealand, and in pre-European times occurred in both main islands, but is now restricted to a number of small offshore islands, and mainland reserves protected by pest-exclusion fences. The little spotted kiwi was on the brink of extinction when a conservation effort took place 100 years ago. Five individuals were translocated from the South Island of New Zealand to Kapiti Island. Today, the Kapiti Island population has grown, with around 1200 birds.[5]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Apteryx owenii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22678129A92756395. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678129A92756395.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)
  3. ^ Gould, John (1847). "On a new species of Apteryx". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 15 (1): 93–94. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1847.tb00159.x.
  4. ^ Gill; et al. (2010). "Checklist of the birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica" (PDF) (4th ed.). Te Papa Press. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  5. ^ Ramstad (2013). "Genetic consequences of a century of protection: serial founder events and survival of the little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii)". Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 280 (1762). PubMed Central. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.0576. PMC 3673049. PMID 23677342.