Recent avian extinctions on Réunion (Mascarene Islands) from paleontological and historical sources
Mourer, Cécile (Creator), Bour, Roger (Creator), Ribes, Sonia (Creator)
The Mascarene Islands were uninhabited when the first Europeans settled there, during the 16th century. The strange avifauna of these islands was described by the early travellers, but many species disappeared very rapidly. Fossil remains were discovered very early on Rodrigues, and later on Mauritius, but it was only in 1974 that the first remains of fossil birds were discovered on Réunion, in a large cave,‘Grotte des Premiers Français'. Subsequently, other remains were discovered in small basaltic caves and in a marsh. These fossil birds were studied by Cowles (1987, 1994), Mourer-Chauviré & Moutou (1987), Mourer-Chauviré et al. (1994, 1995a,b), following which a comprehensive paper concerning the different species and fossiliferous localities was issued (Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1999). The original avifauna of Réunion is also known from the accounts of early visitors, whose reports were collated by Lougnon (1970). The parts concerning birds are also presented by Barré & Barau (1982) and Barré et al. (1996). Particular parts of these accounts were discussed by Cheke (1987), and a previously unknown report, by Melet, who called at Réunion in 1671, was discovered by Anne Sauvaget and published in 1999 (Sauvaget 1999)
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