Mascarene owls

Mauritius Owl ( Mascarenotus sauzieri )

Mascarenotus is a genus of three extinct species of owls that were endemic to the Mascarene Islands. Their closest relatives are probably the scops owl ( Otus ), but the subfossil bone material also shows similarities with the also extinct Hawaiian genus Grallistrix.

The Mauritius Owl ( Mascarenotus sauzieri ) was first scientifically described in 1893 as Strix sauzieri of Edward Newton and Hans Friedrich Gadow on the basis of bones Théodore Sauzier had discovered in 1889 in the fossil deposit Mare aux Songes in Mauritius. The type Scops commersoni, the 1896 described by Émile oustalet based on a drawing by Paul Philippe Sanguin de Jossigny from 1770, is a synonym of Mascarenotus sauzieri, as well newtoni 1907 listed in Rothschild's work Extinct Birds kind Strix, on the base was described by two shorter tarsometatarsus bone. 1953 combined Masauji Hachisuka both this taxon as a new Strix sauzieri as Tyto newtoni and Tyto sauzieri. Tyto newtoni was probably the smaller male the Mauritius Owl, while Newton and Gadows type specimen of Tyto sauzieri represents the larger females. With a size of 42 centimeters, the Mauritius Owl was the largest endemic predators on Mauritius. Mid-19th century it was considered extinct. The Réunion Owl ( Mascarenotus grucheti ) was described in 1994 on the basis of subfossil bones, 1974 in the grotto of the prime minister Français promoted Bertrand Kervazo at Saint -Paul on Réunion days. More remains were found in 1980 in the Grotte de l' Autel at Saint- Gilles and between 1990 and 1992 in the fossil deposit Marais de l' Ermitage. The Rodrigues Owl ( Mascarenotus murivorus ) was first described in 1873 by Alphonse Milne -Edwards as Strix murivora. In 1907, Walter Rothschild taxon Bubo (?) Leguati on which is a synonym for this species. Probably the last historical proof of Rodrigues Owl comes from Julien Tafforet from the year in 1726.

The legs of these owls show remarkable similarities in shape and length to those of the Hawaiian genus Grallistrix. Mascarenotus grucheti has similar sizes as Grallistrix erdmani from the island of Maui and Grallistrix orion of Oahu. These similarities could be explained by the convergent evolution of these owls that lived on originally mammal -free islands and have probably fed on small birds.