Talk:Inaccessible Island rail

Untitled

Nice article, 80.255 Jim

Papers to include

• McNab, Brian K.; Ellis, Hugh I. (November 2006). "Flightless rails endemic to islands have lower energy expenditures and clutch sizes than flighted rails on islands and continents" (PDF). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology. 145 (3): 295–311. doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2006.02.025.

• Rachel, Schnaitman, (27 March 2017). "A review of threats to island endemic rails". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Hilton, Geoff M.; Cuthbert, Richard J. (15 June 2010). "Review article: The catastrophic impact of invasive mammalian predators on birds of the UK Overseas Territories: a review and synthesis". Ibis. 152 (3): 443–458. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01031.x.

• Elliott, H. F. I. (3 September 2009). "The Fauna of Tristan da Cunha". Oryx. 2 (01): 41. doi:10.1017/S0030605300035985.

• "In Brief". Polar Record. 30 (174): 235. 27 October 2009. doi:10.1017/S0032247400024463.

• Reduction of the Clavicles in the Mesoenatidae, with Some Remarks Concerning the Relationship of the Clavicle to Flight-Function in Birds

• Rothschild, L. W. "On the eggs of Atlantisia rogersi." Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club 48 (1928).

• Rand, Austin Loomer. "The origin of the land birds of Tristan da Cunha." Fieldiana Zool 37 (1955): 139-166.

• Hänel, C. H. R. I. S. T. I. N. E., and RICARDO L. Palma. "The lice of the Tristan da Cunha Archipelago." Beitrage zur Entomologie 57.1 (2007): 105-133.

• Swales, M. K. (January 1969). "A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE APPLICATION OF THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF FEATHER BARBS TO AVIAN TAXONOMY". Ostrich. 40 (sup1): 55–66. doi:10.1080/00306525.1969.9639109.

• Hopkins, G.H.E.; Clay, Theresa (June 1953). "XLII.—Additions and corrections to the check list of Mallophaga". Journal of Natural History Series 12. 6 (66): 434–448. doi:10.1080/00222935308654443.

• Beauchamp, Antony J. (October 1989). "Panbiogeography and rails of the genus". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 16 (4): 763–772. doi:10.1080/03014223.1989.10422933.

• Keler, S. Von (1 November 1952). "On some mallophaga of sea-birds from the Tristan da Cunha Group and the Dyer Island". Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 15 (2). ISSN 0013-8789.

• Livezey, B. C. (29 December 1998). "A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae)". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 353 (1378): 2077–2151. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0353.

Not all of these will be used, but most have something to add. Sabine's Sunbird talk 19:14, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Inaccessible Island rail/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Casliber (talk · contribs) 22:00, 26 May 2017 (UTC)

Dunno..rails never really appealed to me as much as other birds...but here goes...you know the drill...Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 22:00, 26 May 2017 (UTC)

Sentences 2,3, and 4 in the lead all start with "It....: - I'd append the bit about being the smallest extant flightless bird in the world onto sentence 2 for starters.

link British Ornithologists' Club?

The specific name rogersi honours the Rev Rogers - missing a period...or expand "Rev."

The Inaccessible Island rail has a low basal metabolic rate (BMR), measured in a 1989 at around 60-68% the rate expected for a bird of their weight. - singular/plural

link cinder cones

Looks alright otherwise Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 01:19, 27 May 2017 (UTC)

Addressed all those points I hope. Sabine's Sunbird talk 03:27, 27 May 2017 (UTC)

1. Well written?:

Prose quality:

Manual of Style compliance:

2. Factually accurate and verifiable?:

References to sources:

Citations to reliable sources, where required: (NB: Earwig's copyvio clear)

No original research:

3. Broad in coverage?:

Major aspects:

Focused:

4. Reflects a neutral point of view?:

Fair representation without bias:

5. Reasonably stable?

No edit wars, etc. (Vandalism does not count against GA):

6. Illustrated by images, when possible and appropriate?:

Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:

Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:

Overall:

Pass or Fail: nice work/well done. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 04:21, 27 May 2017 (UTC)

Island dwarfism

I removed the following section: Given its small size, the species is regarded as an example of insular dwarfism, with isolation on a small island free of terrestrial mammals having allowed it to assume the ecological role of a mouse. My reasoning is thus:

• Foster's rule is generally applied to closely related taxa. You'd say make a comparison between members of the same genus or closely related genera. This makes sense, as animals exhibit ranges of sizes so one best describes a species unusual size in relation to closely related species (Is an aardvark a giant or a dwarf? Who knows?). This species is monotypic and its closest relatives are uncertain and considerable time has passed since it diverged from them so in that regards the application of Foster's rule to this species is problematic.
• With regards to its closest relatives as currently understood, the genus Laterallus is itself tiny and mouselike. The black rail and Junin crake are comparable in size if not slightly smaller, and the other members of the genus are around the same size or very slightly larger. So if the species is roughly the same size as their relatives, how can they be a good example of insular dwarfism? I would guess that the suggestion that they are an example of insular dwarfs is based on an earlier taxonomy?
• Finally, Foster's rule would suggest that small species get larger on islands, not smaller. This obviously didn't happen either.

• I don't think it's worth even including it as a "it has been suggested that it is an example of". I don't wish to disparage the book, but in the context of this species the book is not a reliable source (even if it's otherwise good). Sabine's Sunbird talk 04:45, 29 May 2017 (UTC)

References