| Mauritian Shelduck | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Neornithes |
| Infraclass: | Galloanserae |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Subfamily: | Tadorninae |
| Genus: | Alopochen |
| Species: | A. mauritianus |
| Binomial name | |
| Alopochen mauritianus (Newton & Gadow, 1893) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Sarcidiontis mauritiana (lapsus) Sarcidiornis mauritiana Newton & Gadow, 1893 |
|
The Mauritian Shelduck (Alopochen mauritianus) is an extinct species of goose from Mauritius. It was a close relative of the Egyptian Goose. Known from one or two subfossil carpometacarpus bones and a few descriptions, this bird was about the size of a Brent Goose. Its appearance is unknown, except that its wings showed the typical color pattern of shelducks. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Malagasy Shelduck; in this case it would become the nominate subspecies, as Alopochen mauritianus mauritianus.
Sometimes even in scholarly sources[1] one can find references to a supposed "Mauritius Swan" or "Mauritius Comb Goose". These refer to the initial misidentification of the Alopochen mauritianus bones as belonging to the genus Sarkidiornis, but as early as 1897 the true nature of this bird was realized.[2]
Like its Réunion relative, the Mauritian Shelduck was rapidly hunted to extinction. Still reasonably plentiful in 1681, the population collapsed soon afterwards, and Leguat found "wild geese" to be "already rare" in 1693[3]. In 1698, governor Deodati declared them to be extinct.