Auckland Island merganser

The Auckland Island merganser (Mergus australis) (Māori: Miuweka),^[3] also known as the New Zealand merganser, is an extinct species of typical merganser.

Auckland Island merganser Temporal range: Late Holocene
Stuffed specimen from 1902
Conservation status
Extinct (c.1902)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Extinct (c.1902) (NZ TCS)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Mergus
Species:	†M. australis
Binomial name
†Mergus australis Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841
Original range of the Auckland Island merganser

Auckland Island merganser specimen in National Museum of Ireland - Natural History, acquired from Lord Ranfurly, Governor General of New Zealand in 1904

Illustration from 1909

Drawing of the head

Description

This duck was similar in size to the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator). The adult male had a dark reddish-brown head, crest and neck, with bluish black mantle and tail and slate grey wings.^[4] The female was slightly smaller with a shorter crest.

History

The Auckland Island merganser was known from the Auckland Islands archipelago, part of the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands. The only historical records are from Auckland Island and Adams Island. Holocene bones were found on Enderby Island.^[5] The last specimens were apparently a pair shot on 9 January 1902, and the species is now extinct.^[5] It was not found in a 1909 search, and a thorough 1972/1973 exploration of possible habitat concluded that it was long extinct.^[6] Its decline was caused by a combination of hunting and predation by introduced mammals.^[7]

The closely related Chatham Island merganser (Mergus milleneri) is known from Holocene bones found on Chatham Island, New Zealand.^[8] The species identity of merganser bones from mainland New Zealand - North, South, and Stewart Islands - is unresolved.^[5]