Mascarene parrot
| Mascarene parrot | |
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| 1801 illustration by Jacques Barraband | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Superfamily: | Psittacoidea |
| Family: | Psittrichasiidae |
| Subfamily: | Coracopsinae |
| Genus: |
† Mascarinus Lesson, 1830 |
| Species: | † M. mascarin |
| Binomial name | |
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Mascarinus mascarin (Linnaeus, 1771) |
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| Former range (encircled) | |
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The Mascarene parrot or Mascarin (Mascarinus mascarin) is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. The taxonomic relationships of this species has been subject to debate. It has been connected to the Psittaculini parrots based on anatomical grounds, but to the vasa parrots based on genetic grounds. The exact placement is unresolved.
The Mascarene parrot was 35 cm (14 in) in length with a large red bill and long, rounded tail feathers. Its legs were red, and it had naked red skin around the eyes and nostrils. It had a black facial mask and partially white tail feathers, but the colouration of the body, wings and head is unclear. Descriptions from life indicate the body and head were ash grey, and the white part of the tail had two dark central feathers. In contrast, descriptions based on stuffed specimens state that the body was brown and the head bluish but do not mention the dark central tail feathers. This may be due to the specimens having changed colour as a result of aging and exposure to light, as well as other forms of damage. Very little is known about the bird in life.
The Mascarene parrot was first mentioned in 1674, and live specimens were later brought to Europe, where they lived in captivity. The species was scientifically described in 1771. Only two stuffed specimens exist today, in Paris and Vienna. The date and cause of extinction for the Mascarene parrot is unclear. The latest account from 1834 is considered dubious, so it is probable that the species became extinct prior to 1800, and may have become extinct in the wild even earlier.
The Mascarene parrot was first mentioned by the French traveller Sieur Dubois in his 1674 travelogue and only described a few times from life afterwards. At least three live specimens were brought to France in the late 18th century and kept in captivity, two of which were described while alive. Today, two stuffed specimens exist. The holotype, specimen MNHN 211, is in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, while the other, specimen NMW 50.688, is in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna. The latter specimen was bought from the Leverian Museum during a sale in London in 1806. A third stuffed specimen existed around the turn of the 18th century.
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