CHAPTER 6 AVIFAUNAL ASSENIBLAGES FROM THE NENEGA-ITI AND ONEMEA SITES T. H. WF-o rthy and A.J.D. Teninson This chapter presents the results of identification and analysis of bird ' bones recovered from archaeologi- . / ical sites on Taravai and Agakauitai i( f l islands in 2003. There is one previ- ous study on the archaeological bird bones on the Gambier Islands from the five sites excavated by R.C. Green in 1959 on the islands of Mlangareva, Aukena, and Kamaka (Steadman and Justice 1998). They identified 215 bird bones, repre- senting 15 species of seabird, three species of resident landbird, a migrant shorebird, and the chicken Gallus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758). They concluded that of the 18 certain or pre- sumed resident species, at least four and per- haps as many as eight, no longer occurred at the island group. METH )DS This study examines bones excavated at two sites, Nenega-Iti and Onemea on Agakauitai and Taravai islands, respectively, by P. K'1]wU WATFhR The remains of at least three indivliduals are represented in the I\Iangareva archaeological sites. This tropical species has a wide breeding distribution in the eastern Pacific, including Ha- waii, Kiribati, Mlarquesas, Samoa, Tuamotu (in- cluding the CGambier Islands), Tubuai, Pitcairn, Easter and Sala y Gomez Island groups (Pratt et al. 1987; Taylor and Tennyson 1994). In the Gambier Islands, it is recorded breeding on Motu Teiku and Mlanui, and possibly MIakaroa (Lacan and Mlougin 1974). Steadman and Jus- tice (1998) recorded its archaeological remains on Aukena and Kamaka islets. FAXILLYPHAm IorslAJ- PHAETF( )N RI BRI( AUDA REID-TAILLD) TROPIC BIRL) The remains of at least one individual are rep- resented in the MIangareva archaeological sites. This tropical species has a widespread breeding distribution, including the Gambier Islands (Pratt et al. 1987) and is easily distinguished from its much smaller congener, the White-tailed tropicbird 1 /eotIz//s (Daudin, 1802). Note that we have not been able to compare the bones wnth those of the equall] large Red-billed tropicbird Phaethoi aethelmrei (Linnaeus, 1758), which is much less common in this region but which may currently breed as close as the Marquesas group (Pratt et al. 1987). Steadman and Justice (1998) recorded the ar- chaeological remains of Red-tailed tropicbirds on Aukena and Kamaka islets. FAtIILYLI RIDAE GYCJiS ALBA \ WHIT ThRRN This was the second most common species (remains of at least six individuals) represented in the Mlangareva archaeological sites. Referred to as G. candida by Steadman and Justice (1998), the white tern has man) described, but poorly defined, subspecies and is one of the most wide- spread species in the tropical Pacific (Higgins and Davies 1996). Steadman and Justice (1998) recorded its archaeological remains on Kamaka Islet. Its wing bones are of similar size to those of Anou. rn/untus but features of the bill, hu- merus, and coracoid at least, are qualitatively different, and the leg bones are far smaller, al- lowing it to be easily distinguished. ANOIJS STOLIDUS BROWN NO)D)D The Brown noddy is represented by one bone in the Mlangareva archaeological sites. This species occurs throughout the world's tropical oceans (Pratt et al. 1987). It is known to breed in the Gambier Islands (Lacan and MIougin 1974). Steadman & Justice (1998) recorded its archaeological remains on Kamaka Islet. FAILMY CoL1 'MB3IDTAfIl47- A proximal and shaft of a tarsometatarsus, a proximal femur, and a L manus phal 2.1 are from a Ducula species. The tarsometatarsal mor- phology of Ducula is very different from that of Gallicolumba (Worthv 2001; Worthy, and Wragg 2003). These specimens are not referable to the 127 AVIFAUNAL ASSEMBLAGES FROM THE NENNEGA-ITI AND ONEMEA SITES similar sized C(a//ico/unlba /111/ (to which a humeral endi of a coracoid and a shaft of a tibiotarsus from Kamaka Islet were referre(d bv Steadm-iian and Justice (1998)). The tarsometatarsus is of similar length to that of 1)/tn/a galeatablut is con- siderablv more robust. it is shorter and relatively more robust than tarsi of the Henderson pigeon (Worthy and Wragg, in press) and I). lakeba from Fiji (Worthy 2001), and has similar proportions to D. dazid, so far described only from the holo- type from Uvea (Balouet and Olson 1987). These bones represent a further species of large fruit pigeon for which the fossil record is reveal- ing now extinct taxa in most island groups across Polynesia from New Caledonia to the Mtarquesas (Steadman 1997; Worthy 22001; Worthy and Wragg, in press). DISCUSSION We identified 166 bones, representing 9 spe- cies (mainly seabirds), in the archaeological bird fauna of Mlangareva. Mlost of the species that we recorded in the archaeological sites on Mangareva are species that would be expected, based on their known distributions. There are two outstanding species repre- sented in the deposits. The most common is apparently a species of Pseudobulwer-ia petrel. No species of Pseudobuhlneria, of the size of the bones in this deposit, are known from the east- ern Pacific, and it is likely that the remains rep- resent an unknown species. The other unusual species is a Ducula pigeon, represented b) three bones of at least one individual. No Ducula pi- geons were previousl1 known from the CGam- bier group, and it appears that these bones rep- resent an extinct species. Steadman and Justice (1998) recorded 12 species that we (lid not: Short-tailed shearwater Pff/inus tenUirostlif Qfemminck, 1835), Audubon's Shearwater P. ih.erminieri (Lesson, 1839), Polynesian storm petrel Nesofregetta fulkgonosa (Gmelin, 1789), W'hite-tailed tropicbird, Great frigatebird Fre