Six reports attest to its existence, and the genus Porphyrio is known as a colonizer of oceanic islands, having evolved into many local endemic species, of which only the Takahē is still found to be extant nowadays.
A related species, the North Island Takahē (P. mantelli) or mōho is extinct and only known from skeletal remains.
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Although this behaviour was previously unknown, the related Pukeko occasionally feeds on eggs and nestlings of other birds as well.
Takahē | Takahe | North Island Takahē |
Several other species bear his name in their scientific names, including the Takahe, Porphyrio hochstetteri, and Powelliphanta hochstetteri, a species (with five subspecies) of New Zealand's giant carnivorous land snails.