NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Laysan Rail
Zapornia palmeri (Frohawk, 1892)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Laysan rail or Laysan crake (Zapornia palmeri) is an extinct species of flightless rail endemic to the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. In Hawaiian, the common name for this species is moho, which it shares with the extinct Hawaiian Rail. This small island was and still is an important seabird colony, and sustained a number of endemic species, including the rail. It went extinct due to habitat loss caused by domestic rabbits and predation by rats, both of which were introduced to Midway during the Second World War.
Wikipedia contributors, Laysan rail; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:18:15.199908+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zapornia palmeri (Frohawk, 1892)
- Name authority
- (Frohawk, 1892)
- Common name
- Laysan Rail
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Zapornia
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusZapornia Leach, 1816
- speciesZapornia palmeri (Frohawk, 1892)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Zapornia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| St Helena RailZapornia astrictocarpus (Olson, 1973) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Black-tailed CrakeZapornia bicolor (Walden, 1872) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black CrakeZapornia flavirostra (Swainson, 1837) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kosrae CrakeZapornia monasa (Kittlitz, 1858) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Sakalava RailZapornia olivieri (G. Grandidier & Berlioz, 1929) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little CrakeZapornia parva (Scopoli, 1769) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Band-bellied CrakeZapornia paykullii (Ljungh, 1813) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Porzana palmeri (Frohawk, 1892) (Frohawk, 1892) | synonym |
| Porzanula palmeri Frohawk, 1892 Frohawk, 1892 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1244243 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:CPPDV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.