From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mauritius Night Heron (Nycticorax mauritianus) is an extinct night heron species from Mauritius. It is only known by seven subfossil bone remains consisted of cranium, pelvis, coracoid, ulna, radius, and tarsometatarsus found in Mare aux Songes. Only the coracoid and the tarsometatarsus are left today. It was scientifically discussed in 1893 by Alfred Newton and Hans Gadow from the Cambridge University. Newton and Gadow measured the tarsometatarsus with 81 to 87 mm [1]. It became presumedly extinct in the late 17th century and was probably first mentioned by François Leguat in 1693 who described them as "great flight of bitterns".
[edit] References
- ^ Greenway, James C. (1967): Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World
- BirdLife International (2004). Nycticorax mauritianus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 October 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is extinct.
