Rodrigues parrot | |
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Subfossil skull and limb bones, 1879 | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Psittaculidae |
Genus: | Necropsittacus Milne-Edwards, 1873 |
Species: | †N. rodricanus |
Binomial name | |
†Necropsittacus rodricanus (Milne-Edwards, 1867) | |
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Location of Rodrigues | |
Synonyms | |
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The Rodrigues parrot or Leguat's parrot (Necropsittacus rodricanus) is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. The species is known from subfossil bones and from mentions in contemporary accounts. It is unclear to which other species it is most closely related, but it is classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, along with other Mascarene parrots. The Rodrigues parrot bore similarities to the broad-billed parrot of Mauritius, and may have been related. Two additional species have been assigned to its genus (N. francicus and N. borbonicus), based on descriptions of parrots from the other Mascarene islands, but their identities and validity have been debated.
The Rodrigues parrot was green, and had a proportionally large head and beak and a long tail. Its exact size is unknown, but it may have been around 50 cm (20 in) long. It was the largest parrot on Rodrigues, and it had the largest head of any Mascarene parrot. It may have looked similar to the great-billed parrot. By the time it was discovered, it frequented and nested on islets off southern Rodrigues, where introduced rats were absent, and fed on the seeds of the shrub Fernelia buxifolia . The species was last mentioned in 1761, and probably became extinct soon after, perhaps due to a combination of predation by introduced animals, deforestation, and hunting by humans.
Birds thought to be the Rodrigues parrot were first mentioned by the French traveler François Leguat in his 1708 memoir, A New Voyage to the East Indies. Leguat was the leader of a group of nine French Huguenot refugees who colonised Rodrigues between 1691 and 1693 after they were marooned there. Subsequent accounts were written by the French sailor Julien Tafforet, who was marooned on the island in 1726, in his Relation de l'Île Rodrigue, and then by the French astronomer Alexandre Pingré, who travelled to Rodrigues to view the 1761 transit of Venus. [2] [3] [4]
In 1867, the French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards described subfossil bird bones from Rodrigues he had received via the British ornithologist Alfred Newton, which had been excavated under the supervision of his brother, Colonial Secretary Edward Newton. [5] Among the bones was a fragmentary front part of an upper beak that he identified as belonging to a parrot. Based on this beak, he scientifically described and named the new species Psittacus rodricanus. While he found the bone similar to the beaks of the lories in the genus Eclectus , he preferred to give it a less precise classification than assigning it to that genus, due to the scant remains. [6]
The specific name rodricanus refers to Rodrigues, which is itself named after the discoverer of the island, the Portuguese navigator Diogo Rodrigues. [7] Milne-Edwards corrected the spelling of the specific name to rodericanus (in a footnote in an 1873 compilation of his articles about extinct birds that included the original description), a spelling which was used in the literature henceforward, but was changed back to rodricanus by the IOC World Bird List in 2014. [8] [9] After receiving a more complete upper and lower beak which he thought showed the bird to be close to the parrot genus Palaeornis , Milne-Edwards moved the species to its own genus Necropsittacus in 1873; the name is derived from the Greek words nekros, which means dead, and psittakos, parrot, in reference to the bird being extinct. [7] [10]
In another footnote to his 1873 compilation, Milne-Edwards correlated the subfossil species with parrots mentioned by Leguat. [8] In 1875, A. Newton analysed Tafforet's then newly rediscovered account, and identified a description of the Rodrigues parrot. [11] In a footnote in an 1891 edition of Leguat's memoir, the British writer Samuel Pasfield Oliver doubted that the parrots mentioned were the Rodrigues parrot, due to their smaller size, and suggested they may have been Newton's parakeet. [3] As Leguat mentioned both green and blue parrots in the same sentence, the British palaeontologist Julian Hume suggested in 2007 that these could either be interpreted as references to both the Rodrigues parrot and Newton's parakeet, or as two colour morphs of the latter. [7]
The current whereabouts of the holotype beak are unknown. It may be specimen UMZC 575, a rostrum that was sent from Milne-Edwards to A. Newton after 1880, which matches the drawing and description in Milne-Edwards's paper, but this cannot be confirmed. [7] In 1879 the German ornithologist Albert Günther and E. Newton described more fossils of the Rodrigues parrot, including a skull and limb bones. [12] Remains of the species are scarce, but subfossils have been discovered in caves on the Plaine Corail and in Caverne Tortue. [13]
Many endemic Mascarene birds, including the dodo, are derived from South Asian ancestors, and the British ecologist Anthony S. Cheke and Hume have proposed that this may be the case for all the parrots there as well. Sea levels were lower during the Pleistocene, so it was possible for species to colonise some of the then less isolated islands. [2] Although most extinct parrot species of the Mascarenes are poorly known, subfossil remains show that they shared features such as enlarged heads and jaws, reduced pectoral bones, and robust leg bones. [7] In 1893, E. Newton and the German ornithologist Hans Gadow found the Rodrigues parrot to be closely related to the broad-billed parrot due to their large jaws and other osteological features, but were unable to determine whether they both belonged in the same genus, since a head-crest was only known from the latter. [14] The British ornithologist Graham S. Cowles instead found their skulls too dissimilar for them to be close relatives in 1987. [15]
Hume has suggested that the Mascarene parrots have a common origin in the radiation of the tribe Psittaculini, basing this theory on morphological features and the fact that parrots of that group have managed to colonise many isolated islands in the Indian Ocean. [7] The Psittaculini may have invaded the area several times, as many of the species were so specialised that they may have evolved significantly on hotspot islands before the Mascarenes emerged from the sea. [2]
The British zoologist Walther Rothschild assigned two hypothetical parrot species from the other Mascarene Islands to the genus Necropsittacus; N. francicus in 1905 and N. borbonicus in 1907. Rothschild gave the original description of N. francicus as "head and tail fiery red, rest of body and tail green", and stated it was based on descriptions from voyages to Mauritius in the 17th and early 18th century. N. borbonicus (named for Bourbon, the original name of Réunion) was based on a single account by the French traveller Sieur Dubois, who mentioned "green parrots of the same size [presumably as the Réunion parakeet] with head, upper parts of the wings, and tail the colour of fire" on Réunion. Rothschild considered it to belong to Necropsittacus since Dubois compared it to related species. [7] [16] [17] [18]
The two assigned Necropsittacus species have since become the source of much taxonomic confusion, and their identities have been debated. N. borbonicus later received common names such as Réunion red and green parakeet or Réunion parrot, and N. francicus has been called the Mauritian parrot. The Japanese ornithologist Masauji Hachisuka recognised N. borbonicus in 1953, and published a restoration of it with the colouration described by Dubois and the body-plan of the Rodrigues parrot. He did not find the naming of N. francicus to have been necessary, but expressed hope more evidence would be found. In 1967, the American ornithologist James Greenway suggested that N. borbonicus may have been an escaped pet lory seen by Dubois, since 16th century Dutch paintings show the somewhat similar East Indian chattering lory, presumably in captivity. However, Greenway was unable to find any references that matched those Rothschild had given for N. francicus. [7] [19] [20]
In 1987, Cheke found the described colour-pattern of N. borbonicus remiscent of Psittacula parrots, but considered N. francicus to be based on confused reports. [4] In 2001 the British writer Errol Fuller suggested Dubois's account of N. borbonicus could either have referred to an otherwise unrecorded species or have been misleading, and found N. francicus to be "one of the most dubious of all hypothetical species". [18] In 2007, Hume suggested that Rothschild had associated N. borbonicus with the Rodrigues parrot because he had mistakenly incorporated Dubois's account into his description of the latter; he stated the Rodrigues parrot also had red plumage (though it was all-green), and had been mentioned by Dubois (who never visited Rodrigues). Rothschild also attributed the sighting of N. francicus to Dubois, repeating the colour-pattern he had described earlier for the Rodrigues parrot, and this led Hume to conclude that the name N. francicus was based solely on "the muddled imagination of Lord Rothschild". Hume added that if Dubois's description of N. borbonicus was based on a parrot endemic to Réunion, it may have been derived from the Alexandrine parakeet, which has a similar colouration, apart from the red tail. [7] [16]
The Rodrigues parrot was described as being the largest parrot species on the island, with a big head and a long tail. Its plumage was described as being of uniform green colouration. [19] Its skull was flat and depressed compared to those of most other parrots, but similar to the genus Ara . The skull was 50 mm (2.0 in) long without the beak, 38 mm (1.5 in) wide, and 24 mm (0.94 in) deep. The coracoid (part of the shoulder) was 35 mm (1.4 in) long, the humerus (upper-arm bone) 53 mm (2.1 in), the ulna (lower-arm bone) 57 mm (2.2 in), the femur (thigh-bone) 49 mm (1.9 in), the tibia (lower-leg bone) 63 mm (2.5 in), and the metatarsus (foot bone) 22 mm (0.87 in). [12] Its exact body length is unknown, but it may have been around 50 cm (20 in), comparable to the size of a large cockatoo. [18] Its tibia was 32% smaller than that of a female broad-billed parrot, yet the pectoral bones were of similar size, and proportionally its head was the largest of any Mascarene species of parrot. [7]
The Rodrigues parrot was similar in skeletal structure to the parrot genera Tanygnathus and Psittacula. The pectoral and pelvic bones were similar in size to those of the New Zealand kaka, and it may have looked like the great-billed parrot in life, but with a larger head and tail. It differed from other Mascarene parrots in several skeletal features, including having nostrils that faced upwards instead of forwards. No features of the skull suggest it had a crest like the broad-billed parrot, and there is not enough fossil evidence to determine whether it had pronounced sexual dimorphism. [7] There are intermediate specimens between the longest and shortest examples of the known skeletal elements, which indicates there were no distinct size groups. [12]
Tafforet's 1726 description is the only detailed account of the Rodrigues parrot in life:
The largest are larger than a pigeon, and have a tail very long, the head large as well as the beak. They mostly come on the islets which are to the south of the island, where they eat a small black seed, which produces a small shrub whose leaves have the smell of the orange tree, and come to the mainland to drink water ... they have their plumage green. [7]
Tafforet also mentioned that the parrots ate the seeds of the shrub Fernelia buxifolia ("bois de buis"), which is endangered today, but was common all over Rodrigues and nearby islets during his visit. Leguat mentioned that the parrots of the island ate the nuts of the tree Cassine orientalis ("bois d'olive"). Due to a large population of introduced rats on Rodrigues, the parrots, the Rodrigues starling, and the Rodrigues pigeon, frequented and nested on offshore islets, where the rats were absent. [7]
Many of the other endemic species of Rodrigues became extinct after the arrival of humans, so the ecosystem of the island is heavily damaged. Before humans arrived, forests covered the island entirely, but very little remains today due to deforestation. The Rodrigues parrot lived alongside other recently extinct birds such as the Rodrigues solitaire, the Rodrigues rail, Newton's parakeet, the Rodrigues starling, the Rodrigues scops owl, the Rodrigues night heron, and the Rodrigues pigeon. Extinct reptiles include the domed Rodrigues giant tortoise, the saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise, and the Rodrigues day gecko. [2]
Of the eight or so parrot species endemic to the Mascarenes, only the echo parakeet of Mauritius has survived. The others were likely all made extinct by a combination of excessive hunting and deforestation by humans. Like mainland Rodrigues, the offshore islets were eventually infested by rats, which is believed to have caused the demise of the Rodrigues parrot and other birds there. [7] Cats may also have hunted the remaining birds. [21] The rats probably preyed on their eggs and chicks. [19]
Leguat mentioned use of local parrots as food, but it is uncertain whether the green species was the Rodrigues parrot or a green Newton's parakeet: [7]
There are abundance of green and blew Parrets, they are of a midling and equal bigness; when they are young, their Flesh is as good as young Pigeons. [7]
Pingré indicated in 1671 that local species were popular game, and found that the Rodrigues parrot was rare:
The perruche [Newton's parakeet] seemed to me much more delicate [than the flying-fox]. I would not have missed any game from France if this one had been commoner in Rodrigues; but it begins to become rare. There are even fewer perroquets [Rodrigues parrots], although there were once a big enough quantity according to François Leguat; indeed a little islet south of Rodrigues still retains the name Isle of Parrots [Isle Pierrot]. [7]
Pingré also reported that the island was becoming deforested by tortoise hunters who set fires to clear vegetation. Along with direct hunting of the parrots, this likely led to a reduction in the population of Rodrigues parrots. Pingré's 1761 account is the last known mention of the species, and it probably became extinct soon after. [7]
The dodo is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightless Rodrigues solitaire. The two formed the subfamily Raphinae, a clade of extinct flightless birds that were a part of the family which includes pigeons and doves. The closest living relative of the dodo is the Nicobar pigeon. A white dodo was once thought to have existed on the nearby island of Réunion, but it is now believed that this assumption was merely confusion based on the also-extinct Réunion ibis and paintings of white dodos.
Newton's parakeet, also known as the Rodrigues parakeet or Rodrigues ring-necked parakeet, is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues in the western Indian Ocean. Several of its features diverged from related species, indicating long-term isolation on Rodrigues and subsequent adaptation. The rose-ringed parakeet of the same genus is a close relative and probable ancestor. Newton's parakeet may itself have been ancestral to the endemic parakeets of nearby Mauritius and Réunion.
The Rodrigues solitaire is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Genetically within the family of pigeons and doves, it was most closely related to the also extinct dodo of the nearby island Mauritius, the two forming the subfamily Raphinae. The Nicobar pigeon is their closest living genetic relative.
The Réunion ibis or Réunion sacred ibis is an extinct species of ibis that was endemic to the volcanic island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The first subfossil remains were found in 1974, and the ibis was first scientifically described in 1987. Its closest relatives are the Malagasy sacred ibis, the African sacred ibis, and the straw-necked ibis. Travellers' accounts from the 17th and 18th centuries described a white bird on Réunion that flew with difficulty and preferred solitude, which was subsequently referred to as the "Réunion solitaire".
The echo parakeet is a species of parrot endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and formerly Réunion. It is the only living native parrot of the Mascarene Islands; all others have become extinct due to human activity. Two subspecies have been recognised, the extinct Réunion parakeet and the living echo parakeet, sometimes known as the Mauritius parakeet. The relationship between the two populations was historically unclear, but a 2015 DNA study determined them to be subspecies of the same species by comparing the DNA of echo parakeets with a single skin thought to be from a Réunion parakeet, but it has also been suggested they did not constitute different subspecies. As it was named first, the binomial name of the Réunion parakeet is used for the species; the Réunion subspecies thereby became P. eques eques, while the Mauritius subspecies became P. eques echo. Their closest relative was the extinct Newton's parakeet of Rodrigues, and the three are grouped among the subspecies of the rose-ringed parakeet of Asia and Africa.
The Raphinae are a clade of extinct flightless birds formerly called didines or didine birds. They inhabited the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, but became extinct through hunting by humans and predation by introduced non-native mammals following human colonisation in the 17th century. Historically, many different groups have been named for both the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire, not all grouping them together. Most recently, it is considered that the two birds can be classified in Columbidae, often under the subfamily Raphinae. The first person to suggest a close affinity to the doves was Johannes Theodor Reinhardt, whose opinions were then supported by Hugh Edwin Strickland and Alexander Gordon Melville.
The broad-billed parrot or raven parrot is a large extinct parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius. The species was first referred to as the "Indian raven" in Dutch ships' journals from 1598 onwards. Only a few brief contemporary descriptions and three depictions are known. It was first scientifically described from a subfossil mandible in 1866, but this was not linked to the old accounts until the rediscovery of a detailed 1601 sketch that matched both the subfossils and the accounts. It is unclear what other species it was most closely related to, but it has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, along with other Mascarene parrots. It had similarities with the Rodrigues parrot, and may have been closely related.
The Seychelles parakeet or Seychelles Island parrot is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. It was scientifically named Palaeornis wardi by the British ornithologist Edward Newton in 1867, and the specific name honours the British civil commissioner Swinburne Ward who procured the specimens that formed the basis for the description. It was found on the islands of Mahé, Silhouette, and possibly Praslin. Ten skin specimens exist today, but no skeletons. Though the species was later moved to the genus Psittacula, genetic studies have led some researchers to suggest it should belong in a reinstated Palaeornis along with the closely related Alexandrine parakeet (P. eupatria) of Asia.
The hoopoe starling, also known as the Réunion starling or Bourbon crested starling, is a species of starling that lived on the Mascarene island of Réunion and became extinct in the 1850s. Its closest relatives were the also-extinct Rodrigues starling and Mauritius starling from nearby islands, and the three apparently originated in south-east Asia. The bird was first mentioned during the 17th century and was long thought to be related to the hoopoe, from which its name is derived. Some affinities have been proposed, but it was confirmed as a starling in a DNA study.
The Rodrigues night heron is an extinct species of heron that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. The species was first mentioned as "bitterns" in two accounts from 1691–1693 and 1725–1726, and these were correlated with subfossil remains found and described in the latter part of the 19th century. The bones showed that the bird was a heron, first named Ardea megacephala in 1873, but moved to the night heron genus Nycticorax in 1879 after more remains were described. The specific name megacephala is Greek for "great-headed". Two related extinct species from the other Mascarene islands have also been identified from accounts and remains: the Mauritius night heron and the Réunion night heron.
The Rodrigues rail, also known as Leguat's gelinote or Leguat's rail, is an extinct species of the rail family that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. The bird was first documented from life by two accounts from 1691–93 and 1725–26. Subfossil remains were later discovered and correlated with the old accounts in 1874, and the species was named E. leguati in Leguat's honour. It is generally kept in its own genus, Erythromachus, but has sometimes been assigned to the genus Aphanapteryx along with its close relative the red rail of Mauritius; their relationship with other rails is unclear.
The red rail is an extinct species of rail that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It had a close relative on Rodrigues island, the likewise extinct Rodrigues rail, with which it is sometimes considered congeneric, but their relationship with other rails is unclear. Rails often evolve flightlessness when adapting to isolated islands, free of mammalian predators, and that was also the case for this species. The red rail was a little larger than a chicken and had reddish, hairlike plumage, with dark legs and a long, curved beak. The wings were small, and its legs were slender for a bird of its size. It was similar to the Rodrigues rail, but was larger, and had proportionally shorter wings. It has been compared to a kiwi or a limpkin in appearance and behaviour.
The Mauritius sheldgoose, also known as the Mauritius shelduck, is an extinct species of sheldgoose that was endemic to the island of Mauritius. While geese were mentioned by visitors to Mauritius in the 17th century, few details were provided by these accounts. In 1893, a carpometacarpus wing-bone and a pelvis from the Mare aux Songes swamp were used to name a new species of comb duck, Sarcidiornis mauritianus. These bones were connected to the contemporary accounts of geese and later determined to belong to a species related to the Egyptian goose and placed in the sheldgoose genus Alopochen. The Mauritius and Réunion sheldgoose may have descended from Egyptian geese that colonised the Mascarene islands.
The Rodrigues pigeon or Rodrigues dove is an extinct species of pigeon formerly endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. It is known from a subfossil sternum and some other bones, and the descriptions of Leguat (1708) and Julien Tafforet (1726).
The Mascarene coot is an extinct species of coot that inhabited the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. Long known from subfossil bones found in the Mare aux Songes swamp on the former island, but only assumed from descriptions to also have been present on the latter, remains have more recently been found on Réunion also. Early travellers' reports from Mauritius were, in reverse, generally assumed to refer to common moorhens, but it seems that this species only colonized the island after the extinction of the endemic coot.
The Mascarene parrot or mascarin is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. The taxonomic relationships of this species have been subject to debate; it has historically been grouped with either the Psittaculini parrots or the vasa parrots, with the latest genetic study favouring the former group.
The Rodrigues scops owl, also known as Rodrigues owl, Rodrigues lizard owl, Leguat's owl, or Rodrigues little owl, was a small owl. It lived on the Mascarene island of Rodrigues, but it is nowadays extinct. It is part of the three Mascarene owls, formerly classified in the genus Mascarenotus, although they are now classified in the genus Otus. Like many of the Mascarene land-birds, the genus was a distinct relative to South-East Asian taxa, in this case apparently being a descendant of the direct ancestor of the Oriental scops owl. This insular scops owl had evolved gigantism, becoming twice as large and four times heavier than its continental ancestor.
The Réunion swamphen, also known as the Réunion gallinule or oiseau bleu, is a hypothetical extinct species of rail that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Réunion. While only known from 17th- and 18th-century accounts by visitors to the island, it was scientifically named in 1848, based on the 1674 account by Sieur Dubois. A considerable literature was subsequently devoted to its possible affinities, with current researchers agreeing it was derived from the swamphen genus Porphyrio. It has been considered mysterious and enigmatic due to the lack of any physical evidence of its existence.
The Rodrigues starling is an extinct species of starling that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. Its closest relatives were the Mauritius starling and the hoopoe starling from nearby islands; all three are extinct and appear to be of Southeast Asian origin. The bird was only reported by French sailor Julien Tafforet, who was marooned on the island from 1725 to 1726. Tafforet observed it on the offshore islet of Île Gombrani. Subfossil remains found on the mainland were described in 1879, and were suggested to belong to the bird mentioned by Tafforet. There was much confusion about the bird and its taxonomic relations throughout the 20th century.
The Mascarene grey parakeet, Mauritius grey parrot, or Thirioux's grey parrot, is an extinct species of parrot which was endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. It has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, along with other parrots from the Islands.
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