St. Helena Rail

The Saint Helena rail (Aphanocrex podarces) is an extinct species of flightless rail from Saint Helena. It disappeared from the island in the early 16th century.

When American ornithologist Alexander Wetmore described this species from subfossil remains which were found at Prosperous Bay, Saint Helena, he classified it into the new genus Aphanocrex. However, in 1973 American paleontologist Storrs Olson synonymised this genus with the genus Atlantisia, the other representative of which was the Inaccessible Island rail (Atlantisia rogersi). While Olson had considered it as congener of the Inaccessible Island rail, other scientists regarded it not even as a close relative and so it is retained in Aphanocrex.