Biology:Mauritian wood pigeon
| Mauritian wood pigeon | |
|---|---|
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| Life restoration by Julian P. Hume | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Columba |
| Species: | †C. thiriouxi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Columba thiriouxi Hume, 2011
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| Former range | |
The Mauritian wood pigeon (Columba thiriouxi) is an extinct species of the pigeon genus Columba which was endemic to Mauritius. It was a small, likely arboreal, wood pigeon.
Taxonomy
The Mauritian wood pigeon was described in 2011 by English paleontologist Julian P. Hume. The holotype is a right tarsometatarsus subfossil collected in 1910 by Etienne Thirioux, an amateur fossil collector, from a cave in the Vallée des Prêtres in central east Mauritius. The specific epithet, thiriouxi, is in honor of Thirioux.[2]
Extinction
Very little is known about the Mauritian wood pigeon. It was apparently easily caught, and likely became extinct around 1730 due to overhunting, predation by introduced black rats (Rattus rattus), and deforestation.[3]
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2017). "Columba thiriouxi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T62254534A119206067.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/62254534/119206067. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ↑ Hume, J.P. 2011: Systematics, morphology, and ecology of pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbidae) of the Mascarene Islands, with three new species. Zootaxa, 3124: 1-62. Preview ISBN 978-1-86977-825-5 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-86977-826-2 (online edition)
- ↑ IUCN (2016-10-01) (in en). Columba thiriouxi: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T62254534A119206067 (Report). International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T62254534A119206067.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/62254534/119206067.
Wikidata ☰ Q6793760 entry
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