Ducula shutleri Worthy and Burley 2020

Ducula shutleri Worthy and Burley, 2020

Referred Material. Ha`ateiho site, Tongatapu: tarsometatarsus UF 152051 (Figs. 3, 4). Mele Havea site, Ha`afeva: coracoid UF 156618 (Figs. 6, 7); scapula UF 156457 (Fig. 8); tibiotarsus UF 156405; tarsometatarsus UF 156286; ungual phalanges UF 156392, 157980. Tongoleleka site, Lifuka: coracoids UF 158531, BPBM 165692 (Figs. 6, 7); tarsometatarsus UF 158292.`Anatu,`Eua: nasal UF 152063; scapula UF 151864; ulnae UF 152745, 152958, 152968; tarsometatarsus UF 151882; ungual phalanx UF 152000.

Remarks. Ducula shutleri, recently described from archaeological sites in the Vava`u group of Tonga (Worthy & Burley 2020), belongs to the arboreal pigeon group (which also includes Hemiphaga, Ptilinopus, Drepanoptila, Gymnophaps, Tongoenas, and other species of Ducula; see below) because of agreeing with them in characters 5–7 of the tibiotarsus, and characters 14–18 of the tarsometatarsus (Table 1). These eight characters collectively exclude D. shutleri from any of the intermediate or terrestrial pigeons. The material agrees in the characters of all five skeletal elements with modern species of Ducula. We refer the 16 specimens (6 skeletal elements) to D. shutleri based on agreement with characters stated in Worthy and Burley (2020), who pointed out that D. shutleri was larger than any congeneric species, living or extinct (Table 2). Ducula shutleri was listed as “ Ducula undescribed sp.” in Steadman (2006a:327, 328, 335).

Geological Age. Holocene and late Pleistocene. All specimens from Tongatapu and the Ha`apai Group are culturally associated and probably date from ~2850 to ~2700 cal BP. As with Tongoenas burleyi, Ducula shutleri became extinct after people colonized Tonga about 2850 cal BP; it is not known from historic (18 th or 19 th century) specimens or observations, and probably died out within a century or two of human arrival. On` Eua, the specimens of D. shutleri from`Anatu are much older: those from Layer II (five specimens) are>2850 cal BP but <60,000 – 80,000 years old; those from Layer III (two specimens) are> 60,000 –80,000 years old.