Reunion Shelduck (Alopochen kervazoi)
Posted on 31 December, 1672 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1672
Comments:
This species was endemic to the island of Réunion, but is now Extinct. The last record came from 1671-1672, and it had been lost to hunting by 1710.
Habitat:
It is thought to have inhabited freshwater pools and lakes.
Causes:
As early as 1667 Martin recorded destruction of the wildfowl and habitat of the Etang de Saint-Paul, and similar processes are likely to have led to its extinction throughout the island.
Distribution:
Mascarenachen kervazoi is known only from subfossil bones collected by Bertrand Kervazo in the Grottes des Premiers Français on Réunion (to France) in 1974 (Cowles 1994). Nontekoe mentioned finding geese on the island when he visited in 1619, as did Dubois in 1671-2, but it was not to persist long and the species was specifically mentioned to have become extinct by Boucher in 1710 (Cheke 1987). The specimens are deposited in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (Cowles 1994).