Creature
Fast Facts
Introducing you to extinct species.
THE LORD HOWE
SWAMPHEN
1. The Lord Howe swamphen, Porphyrio albus, was also known as the white swamphen or Lord Howe gallinule and is an extinct species of rail that once lived on Lord Howe Island. 2. This swamphen was 22 inches long and had a mostly white body as an adult although some were reported to have blue feathers sporadically. It had a red frontal shield, beak, and legs. 3. The chicks were all black, then turned blue as juveniles, before becoming white as adults. 4. The Lord Howe swamphen had a spur/claw on its wing and may have been flightless, although historical accounts are not clear. 5. They were very docile and sailors easily killed them with sticks. 6. Only two skins of the Lord Howe swamphen exist, one in the Natural History Museum of Vienna, and the other in Liverpool's World Museum. 7. DNA evidence indicated the Lord Howe swamphen was most closely related to the Philippine swamphen and the black-backed swamphen 8. The only information there is on the Lord Howe swamphen’s diet come from a 1788 account write by Blackburn who stated, “I believe they are carnivorous they hold their food between the thumb or hind claw & the bottom of the foot & lift it to the mouth without stopping so much as a parrot.” 9. They preferred the wooded lowlands in the wetlands. 10. The Lord Howe swamphen was probably the first animal to go extinct on the island and was not reported after 1843 when Lord Howe Island was first settled.
Extinction
Cometh
Facing the light at the end of the tunnel
EXTINCTION DATE
1843
Lord Howe Island is a unique habitat found in the middle of the Tasman Sea and is part of New South Wales, Australia. Lord Howe Island’s extinction history runs parallel to so many other unique islands around the world. It has been a World Heritage Site for over 36 years and has many unique species that can only be found on Lord Howe Island. It had 113 unique plants, approximately 800 insect species, not to mention the many bird species that have gone extinct there. As people came to Lord Howe Island on the routes from Australia to Norfolk Island, then up to the Solomon Islands, the people used the island to hunt and gather supplies. According to White’s account from 1789, “They [sailors] also found on it, in great plenty, a kind of fowl, resembling much of the Guinea fowl in shape and size, but widely different in colour; they being in general all white, with a red fleshy substance rising, like a cock’s comb, from the head, and not unlike a piece of sealing-wax. These not being birds of flight, nor in the least wild, the sailors, availing themselves of their gentleness and inability to take wing from their pursuits, easily struck them down with sticks.” The nature, habits, and exact extinction date of the Lord Howe swamphen is unclear. It is assumed that all of the Lord Howe swamphens were gone when the island began to be settled in 1843 because there were no further accounts of the species. That is why most scientists label 1843 as the date of extinction for this bird, although some scientists believe the bird may have continued in more remote regions on the island for longer than that. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Lord Howe swamphen might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the two museum skins at the Natural History Museum of Vienna, or Liverpool's World Museum. While it could possibly be a candidate for de-extinction, would it be able to survive on Lord Howe Island today? Much has been done in Lord Howe to promote conservation and fight the invaders. Groups like the Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project, are seeking to find ways to eliminate rats and mice from the island. Here is a quote from the Lord Howe Rodent Eradication Project about the impact of rodents on the island and what they are working on to help the Lord Howe ecosystem. “The presence of exotic rodents on islands is one of the greatest causes of species extinction in the world. Rats have already been implicated in the extinction of five endemic bird species, at least 13 species of endemic invertebrates, and two plant species on LHI. Rodents are also a recognised threat to at least 13 other bird species, 2 reptiles, 51 plant species, 12 vegetation communities, and 7 species of threatened invertebrates on the Island. Seven of these species are listed as “Critically Endangered” under NSW and Commonwealth legislation. These programs complement significant achievements to date including the eradication of cats and pigs in the 1980’s, feral goats in 1999, and Myrtle Rust in 2018, a world-first. The Protecting Paradise Program was the Gold winner of the 2018 Banksia Sustainability Awards and the 2018 NSW Green Globe Awards in the Natural Environment and Regional Sustainability categories. After more than 15 years of detailed research and planning, final implementation of the Rodent Eradication Project (REP) is almost complete.” Native birds were captured while rat poison was spread throughout the habitat. Once the rats had been poisoned, the captured birds were released back into the wild. These efforts worked well. Dogs were used to eliminate any remaining rats from the island. The last reported rat on Lord Howe Island was in August of 2022. If the Lord Howe swamphen was reintroduced to Lord Howe Island, could it again thrive there? Maybe. Consider this. The Lord Howe woodhen population had been down to 15 individuals in 1980, but today there are over 800 birds.
NEW STORY
Who am I? I am Albus, the Lord Howe swamphen. 'Albus' is Latin for white. I was from Lord Howe Island which was nicknamed “Treasure Island'' because of its pristine beauty. I am part of the TIC, Treasure Islanders Club. I'm actually the president because I've been here the longest. It wasn’t until 1918, that the TIC’s membership soared. Sorry. I mean, it increased dramatically. The term ‘soar’ can be insensitive to flightless birds. On June 15, 1918 the steamship S.S. Makambo ran aground and accidentally released black rats on Lord Howe Island. As the steamship began to sink, the crew threw crates of bananas overboard to lessen the ship’s weight. The rats had been hiding in these crates and floated to the island. This accidental event had devastating consequences on Lord Howe Island. Since that one event, the TIC has added five birds, thirteen invertebrates, and two plants.
More to Explore
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VIDEOS & ADDITIONAL INFO
White Gallinule Facts - Australia Government
Extinct Birds from Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island Catastrophe & Conservation - Video
Lord Howe Stick Insect Rediscovered