Mascarene Black Petrel
Encyclopedia
The Mascarene Petrel is a medium-sized, dark gadfly petrel
.
Also sometimes known as the Mascarene Black Petrel, this species was known from four specimens found in the nineteenth century on the island of Réunion
. Two birds were found dead in the 1970s, and there have been rare observations of birds in the waters south of Réunion since 1964. It is also known from subfossil
remains from the island of Rodrigues
. This species is classified as critically endangered as it is inferred from the number of records that there is an extremely small population threatened by introduced species and light pollution.
Gadfly petrel
The gadfly petrels are seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. These medium to large petrels feed on food items picked from the ocean surface....
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Also sometimes known as the Mascarene Black Petrel, this species was known from four specimens found in the nineteenth century on the island of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
. Two birds were found dead in the 1970s, and there have been rare observations of birds in the waters south of Réunion since 1964. It is also known from subfossil
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
remains from the island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...
. This species is classified as critically endangered as it is inferred from the number of records that there is an extremely small population threatened by introduced species and light pollution.