Tristan Gallinule

Open encyclopedia reference

The Tristan moorhen or Tristan gallinule (Gallinula nesiotis) is an extinct species of flightless rail endemic to the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha. It was very similar to the Gough moorhen of Gough Island, located 636 kilometres (395 mi) to the southeast. The once abundant Tristan moorhen had become rare by 1873, and by the end of 19th century it was extinct as a result of hunting, predation by introduced species (rats, cats and pigs) and habitat destruction by fire. A handful of taxidermied specimens of the Tristan moorhen have been preserved. In 1956 the closely related Gough moorhen G. comeri was introduced to Tristan da Cunha, under the then belief it was a reintroduction of the same species. On the basis of DNA sequencing of both recently collected and historical material from both species, Groenenberg et al (2008) concluded that the genetic distances between G. nesiotis and G. comeri are of at least the same size as those found between subspecies of G. chloropus in the literature.

Wikipedia contributors, Tristan moorhen; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:36:41.816140+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Gallinula nesiotis P. L. Sclater, 1861

Name authority

P. L. Sclater, 1861

Common name

Tristan Gallinule

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Gruiformes

Family

Rallidae

Genus

Gallinula

Extinction status

Recorded extinct

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderGruiformes
10. familyRallidae
11. genusGallinula Brisson, 1760
12. speciesGallinula nesiotis P. L. Sclater, 1861

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gallinula. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 97 records assigned to Rallidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560145 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3F6W2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.