Primitive koa finch Downloaded on 10 July 2007. Primitive koa finch The primitive koa finch ("Rhodacanthis litotes") is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It was endemic to Hawaii. Of the four species in the genus "Rhodacanthis", it and the scissor-billed koa finch became extinct before the arrival of the first Europeans to Hawaii in 1778. It is known as the ancestor of all koa finches. An adult primitive koa finch was slender and had a total length of about . There was probably a small distinct difference between the sexes. Based on fossils, it is known that the adult primitive koa finch had
Greater koa finch regeneration of koa forests, while introduced black rats ("Rattus rattus") preyed on young birds. Avian pox ("Poxvirus avium") and malaria ("Plasmodium relictum"), spread by mosquitoes, may have also been a factor. However, even before these issues became important, the koa finches were probably already living in marginal habitat due to the loss of lowland koa forests, as evidenced by the extinction of the other koa finch species (which lived on lower-elevation islands) prior to European contact. Greater koa finch The greater koa finch ("Rhodacanthis palmeri") was a species of finch in the Fringillidae family. It was found only in the