Amsterdam Duck (Anas marecula)
Posted on 31 December, 1800 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1800
Comments:
This species was found on Amsterdam Island, French Southern Territories, but it is now Extinct having not been seen since 1793. Hunting was the main cause of its extinction.
Habitat:
It was flightless, and is likely to have inhabited small freshwater pools and lakes.
Causes:
It was presumably hunted to extinction by whalers stopping off on the island (Olson and Jouventin 1996).
Distribution:
Anas marecula was endemic to Amsterdam Island, French Southern Territories. It is only known from bones "no more than a few hundred years old". A report of "a small brown duck, not much larger than a thrush" from Barrow's 1793 visit to the neighbouring St Paul Island presumably refers to the same or a similar species (Olson and Jouventin 1996). It is thought to have become extinct soon after the last report in 1793.