Réunion Sheldgoose

The Reunion Goose ( alopochen kervazoi ) is an extinct species of the subfamily of the half geese. She was endemic to the island of Réunion. Is named the type after the paleontologists Bertrand Kervazo who promoted the 1974 subfossil remains found in the cave of the prime minister Français Réunion to days. Other material comes from the Grotte de l' Autel fossil sites, Grotte au "sable " and Marais de l' Ermitage.

The formal scientific description was in 1994 by Graham S. Cowles.

Extinction

1619 reported the Dutch travel writer Willem Ysbrandsz. Bontekoe for the first time of geese on Réunion. The only detailed description comes from the French explorer Dubois, who described the bird in 1674 as something less than the European geese. The Reunion Goose should have seen the Nilgans very similar, but had more robust leg bones and a short strong beak. Feet and beak were reddish. The reason for their extinction was the over-hunting, as the meat of the birds was very tasty. 1665 lifted the French traveler François Martin shows the frequency of geese in the lagoon of Saint Gilles and wrote that the birds were so tame that you could grab them with your hands. 1667 Martin visited the lagoon of Saint Paul, noting that the habitat destroyed and the geese were gone. 1710 wrote the governor of the Île Bourbon (now Réunion) Antoine Desforges - Boucher ( 1681-1725 ) in his " Mémoire d' Antoine Boucher sur l' île Bourbon en 1710 ", " Dear Sirs. One can find anything from these animals, only the pitiful remnants of what could escape your insatiable voracity. "