Polynesian sandpiper
prosobonia latin

The two to four species of Polynesian sandpipers, the only members of the genus Prosobonia, are small wading birds confined to remote Pacific islands of French Polynesia.

While Prosobonia generally manage to hold their own against Polynesian rats, they are highly vulnerable to the black rat and feral cats.

Henderson Island Sandpiper, Prosobonia sp.

Ua Huka Sandpiper, Prosobonia sp.

It also has one of the highest concentrations of the Tuamotu Sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata), with approximately 150 to 200 individuals of the species.

That notwithstanding, it is well possible that a Prosobonia sandpiper related to or identical with the mysterious taxon from Kiritimati one lived on Teraina.

The two to four species of Polynesian sandpipers, the only members of the genus Prosobonia, are small wading birds confined to remote Pacific islands of French Polynesia.

The type specimen of the Tuamotu Sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata) was collected on Christmas Island in 1778, probably on 1 or 2 January, during Captain Cook's visit.

The Tuamotu Sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata) is an endangered member of the large wader family Scolopacidae, that is endemic to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia.

In this case, the Tuamotu subspecies would be called Prosobonia cancellata parvirostris, while the Kiribati population would be the nominate subspecies, P. c. cancellata (Kiritimati Sandpiper).

From Mangaia in the Cook Islands, Ua Huka in the Marquesas, and the remote South Pacific Henderson Island (Wragg 1995), subfossil remains of Prosobonia have been recovered but not yet named.

If a Prosobonia sandpiper once bred on Teraina, it is almost certainly those rats that are responsible for these birds' disappearance; only a single taxon of Prosobonia remains today, precariously holding its own on atolls that are devoid of any rat species.