Mascarene Parrot
Encyclopedia
The Mascarene Parrot is an extinct species of parrot
known from bones, specimens and descriptions to have occurred in the Mascarene island of Réunion
, and possibly Mauritius
. The bird was first described by Dubois in 1674. During the latter half of the 18th century, a number of birds were exported alive to France and kept in captivity; the species was described after these examples came to the attention of the taxonomists of that time, like Brisson
, Linnaeus
and Buffon
. Three stuffed specimens were preserved at that time. Today, two remain, accompanied by a number of bones found later. One, the sole remaining of the three extant around 1800, is in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
in Paris
, the other, dated 1806 and of unknown provenance, in the Naturhistorisches Museum
in Vienna
. The affinity of this species to other Indian Ocean island species has been debated for a long time but was recently resolved using ancient DNA-techniques that placed the species within the genus Coracopsis.
and of a similar shape, although less heavyset and with a longer tail. It was dark greyish brown on the upperside, lighter on the underside. The bases of the tail feathers were white, and the head was colored a medium lavender grey. A ring of velvet-like short black feathers surrounded the bill, which was brilliant red. The feet were reddish brown.
The "evidence" for this bird's former existence on Mauritius rests on the testimony of Peter Mundy
, who saw "russett parratts" in 1638, and Johann Christian Hoffmann, who saw "red crows with recurved beaks and blue heads" called Indiaensche ravens ("Indian Crows") in the early 1670s. An illustration in the report on van Neck's 1598 voyage refers to "Indian crows" twice the size of parakeets and being two- or three-colored, but the animal depicted does not agree well with the Mascarene Parrot. All these reports are often taken to argue that the Broad-billed Parrot
was multicolored and that Lophopsittacus bensoni was a valid species that was the "grey parrots" also mentioned by the early travellers. However, the Broad-billed parrot was in all likelihood flightless and thus it seems that the above-mentioned reports are more consistent with Mascarinus mascarinus. Hoffman states that the birds flew only "with difficulty", though, whereas the wing bones of the Mascarene Parrot does not suggest a reduction in flying ability. The sternum of the bird is only insufficiently known and thus it may be that the species flew badly. This, on the other hand, is in disagreement with the theory that the same taxon occurred on both islands, although Hoffman may have referred to a general unwillingness to fly until pressed, which was common for the unwary birds of the Mascarenes. Most strongly against the former existence of this species on Mauritius, however, weighs the fact that no skeletal material has turned up in the extensive collections of subfossil
bones recovered to date; the fossil record of Mauritius is the most complete of the Mascarene Islands.
of Bavaria
. Bory de Saint-Vincent
does not mention the bird in his description of animals encountered on Réunion in 1801, and it seems to have gone extinct in the wild by then. The Bavarian bird was only ever mentioned by Carl Wilhelm Hahn
who published his account and a painting of the bird in 1834 or 1835. This late date and the fact that his illustration seems plagiarized from a painting by François-Nicolas Martinet
from 1779 by, has made some doubt the authenticity of his account, but he did not mention the date in which he actually saw the bird, and it could had happened been long before. The corpse seems to have been discarded; Hahn's depiction was, if true, the last record of the species being alive. If the species had existed on Mauritius at all, it must have disappeared at a much earlier date; Hoffman's record is the last that would agree with this species, and while the 18th century reports, vague as they are, could refer to M. mascarinus too, they most likely describe parrots that had been introduced and gone feral at that time. The reason why the species should persist on Réunion markedly longer than on Mauritius, in face of the same threats faced by it on both islands, are another puzzling aspect of the species' history.
In the past, however, certain characteristics such as the feathered lores and the red beak did not fit with this assignment and various other affinities have been proposed. Study of the bones seems to suggest that the bird was, like the other Mascarene parrots and paralleling the dodo
and Rodrigues Solitaire
, an offshoot of the Paleotropical radiation of parrots, the tribe Psittaculini
; many of its morphological aspects remind of an Eclectus
or Tanygnathus
parrot. But the bird's closest relatives, judging from anatomical evidence, may indeed be the Psittacula
parakeets. The extinct Mascarene genera of parrots thus seem to form a distinct group in the Psittaculini clade that evolved during the widening of the western Indian Ocean
simultaneously to the didine pigeons and finally wound up on the Mascarenes.
Linnaeus
had the habit of abbreviating species names. Thus, his original description is of Psittacus mascarin., dropping the ending -us. Sometimes, the scientific name is thus written Psittacus mascarin, but that is neither in agreement with the current standard of nomenclature nor with the one applied by Linné himself. Nonetheless, the uncertainties about the bird's relationships and distribution - many early authors assuming it came from Madagascar
- have led to a lengthy assembly of synonyms:
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
known from bones, specimens and descriptions to have occurred in the Mascarene island of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, and possibly Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. The bird was first described by Dubois in 1674. During the latter half of the 18th century, a number of birds were exported alive to France and kept in captivity; the species was described after these examples came to the attention of the taxonomists of that time, like Brisson
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
Mathurin Jacques Brisson was a French zoologist and natural philosopher.Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history, his published works in this department including Le Règne animal and Ornithologie...
, Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
and Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
. Three stuffed specimens were preserved at that time. Today, two remain, accompanied by a number of bones found later. One, the sole remaining of the three extant around 1800, is in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the other, dated 1806 and of unknown provenance, in the Naturhistorisches Museum
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Naturhistorisches Museum Wien or NHMW is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria.The collections displayed cover , and the museum has a website providing an overview as a video virtual tour....
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The affinity of this species to other Indian Ocean island species has been debated for a long time but was recently resolved using ancient DNA-techniques that placed the species within the genus Coracopsis.
Description
The Mascarene Parrot was a medium-sized bird, about as large as an Eclectus ParrotEclectus Parrot
The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands...
and of a similar shape, although less heavyset and with a longer tail. It was dark greyish brown on the upperside, lighter on the underside. The bases of the tail feathers were white, and the head was colored a medium lavender grey. A ring of velvet-like short black feathers surrounded the bill, which was brilliant red. The feet were reddish brown.
The "evidence" for this bird's former existence on Mauritius rests on the testimony of Peter Mundy
Peter Mundy
-Life:He came from Penryn in Cornwall. In 1609 he accompanied his father to Rouen, and was then sent to Gascony to learn French. In May 1611 he went as a cabin-boy in a merchant ship, and gradually rose in life until he became of independent circumstances....
, who saw "russett parratts" in 1638, and Johann Christian Hoffmann, who saw "red crows with recurved beaks and blue heads" called Indiaensche ravens ("Indian Crows") in the early 1670s. An illustration in the report on van Neck's 1598 voyage refers to "Indian crows" twice the size of parakeets and being two- or three-colored, but the animal depicted does not agree well with the Mascarene Parrot. All these reports are often taken to argue that the Broad-billed Parrot
Broad-billed Parrot
The Broad-billed Parrot was a parrot endemic to the island of Mauritius that became extinct.-Description:...
was multicolored and that Lophopsittacus bensoni was a valid species that was the "grey parrots" also mentioned by the early travellers. However, the Broad-billed parrot was in all likelihood flightless and thus it seems that the above-mentioned reports are more consistent with Mascarinus mascarinus. Hoffman states that the birds flew only "with difficulty", though, whereas the wing bones of the Mascarene Parrot does not suggest a reduction in flying ability. The sternum of the bird is only insufficiently known and thus it may be that the species flew badly. This, on the other hand, is in disagreement with the theory that the same taxon occurred on both islands, although Hoffman may have referred to a general unwillingness to fly until pressed, which was common for the unwary birds of the Mascarenes. Most strongly against the former existence of this species on Mauritius, however, weighs the fact that no skeletal material has turned up in the extensive collections of subfossil
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
bones recovered to date; the fossil record of Mauritius is the most complete of the Mascarene Islands.
Extinction
By 1800, the captive birds seem to have died, except one alleged specimen in the possession of Ludwig ILudwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. Bory de Saint-Vincent
Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent
Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent was a French naturalist. He was born at Agen...
does not mention the bird in his description of animals encountered on Réunion in 1801, and it seems to have gone extinct in the wild by then. The Bavarian bird was only ever mentioned by Carl Wilhelm Hahn
Carl Wilhelm Hahn
Dr. Carl Wilhelm Hahn was a German zoologist and author of the first German monograph on spiders. C. W. Hahn was an all-round natural scientist – not at all unusual for his time. Surprisingly he seems to have been almost forgotten...
who published his account and a painting of the bird in 1834 or 1835. This late date and the fact that his illustration seems plagiarized from a painting by François-Nicolas Martinet
François-Nicolas Martinet
François-Nicolas Martinet was a French engineer, engraver and naturalist.Martinet engraved the plates for numerous works on natural history, especially ornithology. Notable in particular are those for l'Ornithologie de Mathurin Jacques Brisson .-External links:*...
from 1779 by, has made some doubt the authenticity of his account, but he did not mention the date in which he actually saw the bird, and it could had happened been long before. The corpse seems to have been discarded; Hahn's depiction was, if true, the last record of the species being alive. If the species had existed on Mauritius at all, it must have disappeared at a much earlier date; Hoffman's record is the last that would agree with this species, and while the 18th century reports, vague as they are, could refer to M. mascarinus too, they most likely describe parrots that had been introduced and gone feral at that time. The reason why the species should persist on Réunion markedly longer than on Mauritius, in face of the same threats faced by it on both islands, are another puzzling aspect of the species' history.
Systematics
The species was originally judged to be closely related to the Afrotropical parrots, especially the genus Coracopsis due to its distribution and the absence of green coloration. This close relationship has been confirmed recently using ancient-DNA techniques, which places the species in between the various subspecies of Coracopsis nigra.In the past, however, certain characteristics such as the feathered lores and the red beak did not fit with this assignment and various other affinities have been proposed. Study of the bones seems to suggest that the bird was, like the other Mascarene parrots and paralleling the dodo
Dodo
The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
and Rodrigues Solitaire
Rodrigues Solitaire
The Rodrigues Solitaire was a flightless member of the pigeon order endemic to Rodrigues, Mauritius. It was a close relative of the Dodo.-Discovery:...
, an offshoot of the Paleotropical radiation of parrots, the tribe Psittaculini
Psittaculini
Psittaculini is a tribe of parrots of the Psittacidae family. The subdivisions within the tribe are controversial.-Tribe Psittaculini:* Genus Psittinus** Blue-rumped Parrot, Psittinus cyanurus* Genus Geoffroyus...
; many of its morphological aspects remind of an Eclectus
Eclectus Parrot
The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands...
or Tanygnathus
Tanygnathus
Tanygnathus is a genus of parrots of the Psittaculini tribe.Genus Tanygnathus* Great-billed Parrot, Tanygnathus megalorynchos* Blue-naped Parrot, Tanygnathus lucionensis* Blue-backed Parrot, Tanygnathus sumatranus...
parrot. But the bird's closest relatives, judging from anatomical evidence, may indeed be the Psittacula
Psittacula
Members of the parrot genus Psittacula or Afro-Asian Ringnecked parakeets as they are commonly known in aviculture originates found from Africa to South-East Asia. It is a widespread group, with a clear concentration of species in south Asia, but also with representatives in Africa and the islands...
parakeets. The extinct Mascarene genera of parrots thus seem to form a distinct group in the Psittaculini clade that evolved during the widening of the western Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
simultaneously to the didine pigeons and finally wound up on the Mascarenes.
Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
had the habit of abbreviating species names. Thus, his original description is of Psittacus mascarin., dropping the ending -us. Sometimes, the scientific name is thus written Psittacus mascarin, but that is neither in agreement with the current standard of nomenclature nor with the one applied by Linné himself. Nonetheless, the uncertainties about the bird's relationships and distribution - many early authors assuming it came from Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
- have led to a lengthy assembly of synonyms:
- Psittacus mascarinus LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1771 - Mascarinus madagascariensis LessonRené-Primevère LessonRené Primevère Lesson was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist.Lesson was born at Rochefort, and at the age of sixteen he entered the Naval Medical School there...
, 1831 - Coracopsis mascarina WaglerJohann Georg WaglerJohann Georg Wagler was a German herpetologist.Wagler was assistant to Johann Baptist von Spix, and became Director of the Zoological Museum at the University of Munich after Spix's death in 1826...
, 1832 - Mascarinus obscurus BonaparteCharles Lucien BonaparteCharles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French naturalist and ornithologist.-Biography:...
, 1854 - Vaza mascarina SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
, 1864 - Psittacus madagascarensis FinschOtto FinschFriedrich Hermann Otto Finsch was a German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer.-Biography:...
, 1868 - Psittacus mascarenus FinschOtto FinschFriedrich Hermann Otto Finsch was a German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer.-Biography:...
, 1868 - Coracopsis obscura G. R. GrayGeorge Robert GrayGeorge Robert Gray FRS was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years...
, 1870 - Psittacus madagascariensis PelzelnAugust von PelzelnAugust von Pelzeln was an Austrian ornithologist.August Edler Pelzeln was in charge of the mammal and bird collections at the Imperial Natural History Museum in Vienna...
, 1873 - Coracopsis mascarinus A. NewtonAlfred NewtonAlfred Newton FRS was an English zoologist and ornithologist.Newton was Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge University from 1866 to 1907...
& E. NewtonEdward NewtonSir Edward Newton KCMG was a British colonial administrator and ornithologist.He was born at Elveden Hall, Suffolk the sixth and youngest son of William Newton, MP. He was the brother of ornithologist Alfred Newton....
, 1876 - Mascarinus duboisi W. A. ForbesWilliam Alexander ForbesWilliam Alexander Forbes was an English zoologist.Forbes studied natural sciences at St John's College, Cambridge. In 1879 he was appointed prosector to the Zoological Society of London on the death of the previous incumbent, Alfred Henry Garrod, who was Forbes's friend and whose literary executor...
, 1879
External links
- World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profiles