Megapodius alimentum

The consumed scrubfowl is an extinct megapode that was native to Fiji and Tonga in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It was originally described from subfossil remains collected by David Steadman from an archaeological site at Tongoleleka, on the island of Lifuka in the Haʻapai group of the Kingdom of Tonga. The specific epithet and vernacular name refer to its evident use as a food item. Subsequently, remains were also found on Lakeba and Mago in the Lau group of Fiji by Trevor Worthy. It likely became extinct through overhunting following human settlement of the islands some 3,500 years ago but may have persisted until the mid-late 19th century.

No picture of Megapodius alimentum was found. Wikipedia, Wikidata and iDigBio were searched and had none. Smithsonian Open Access did not answer, so this is what the others held rather than everything there is. GBIF was asked, and what came back is not recorded: nothing, or a picture this site could not tie to Megapodius alimentum, or no answer at all. This entry cannot say which.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
consumed scrubfowlPBDB
Sits inside
MegapodiusPBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB, for Galliformes
Life habit
volantPBDB, for Galliformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Theropoda
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Theropoda

Time the record covers

At most 129 thousand years on record.

Every occurrence read is dated to somewhere between 129 ka and 0 Mya, and nothing in the dating separates them, so that window is what the record shows rather than a span.

Pleistocene — about 3 of 15 occurrencesPleistoceneHolocene — about 12 of 15 occurrences147 ka–126 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences126 ka–105 ka Mya — about 0.5 occurrences105 ka–84 ka Mya — about 0.5 occurrences84 ka–63 ka Mya — about 0.5 occurrences63 ka–42 ka Mya — about 0.5 occurrences42 ka–21 ka Mya — about 0.5 occurrences21 ka–0 Mya — about 12 occurrences629 ka0 Mya

15 occurrences of Megapodius alimentum on record, most of them in the Holocene. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

15 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Megapodius alimentum and its relatives

Holocene

Where Megapodius alimentum and its relatives were recorded in the Holocene.

Found in the same rock

58 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 15 sites for Megapodius alimentum, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

5 references

Each of the 15 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content0

No picture of Megapodius alimentum was found. Wikipedia, Wikidata and iDigBio were searched and had none.

Smithsonian Open Access did not answer, so this is what the others held rather than everything there is.

GBIF was asked, and what came back is not recorded: nothing, or a picture this site could not tie to Megapodius alimentum, or no answer at all. This entry cannot say which.

No 3D scan of Megapodius alimentum was found in Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itMegapodius through timeFormations of the HoloceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Steadman 1989