Great Spotted Kiwi - Taxonomy and Etymology

Taxonomy and Etymology

This large kiwi is one of five species of kiwis residing in New Zealand. The other four are the Tokoeka (Apteryx australis), Okarito Brown Kiwi (Apteryx rowi), Little Spotted Kiwi (Apteryx owenii), and North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli). Great Spotted Kiwis are related closest to the Little Spotted Kiwi. The Kiwi genus, Apteryx, is endemic to New Zealand, 44% of the bird species native to New Zealand are endemic. Kiwis are placed in the Ratite family, which also includes the Emu, Ostrich, Rhea, and Cassowary. All Ratites are flightless. Kiwi are closely related to the extinct Moa bird that once inhabited New Zealand.

Before the Great Spotted Kiwi was known to science, several stories circulated about the existence of a large kiwi called the Maori Roaroa. In 1871, two specimens were brought to the Canterbury Museum, where they were identified as a new species and were named after the museum's curator, Dr. Haast.

The Great Spotted Kiwi was first described as Apteryx haastii by Thomas Henry Potts, in 1872, based on a specimen from Westland, New Zealand. It is a monotypic species.

The genus name, Apteryx, comes from the Ancient Greek words a "without" or "no", and pteryx, "wing" and haasti is the Latin form of the last name of Sir Julius von Haast.