The Mauritius ground thrush, Geokichla longitarsus, was a species of long-legged[2] thrush within the Turdidae family.[3] Endemic to Mauritius,[1] the Mauritius ground thrush has since gone extinct, probably during the 14th century.
| Mauritius ground thrush Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Turdidae |
| Genus: | Geokichla |
| Species: | †G. longitarsus
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| Binomial name | |
| †Geokichla longitarsus Hume, 2022
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Description
editThe Mauritius ground thrush is based on the holotype (MNHN MAD7127, MNHN MAD 7172 and MNHN MAD 8850), a subfossil specimen discovered by Etienne Thirioux before 2013[3] in the Vallée des Prêtres near Port Louis, Mauritius that consists solely of limb bones including a tarsometatarsus, humeri and tibiotarsi.[1] It was similar in anatomy to the orange-headed thrush from Asia.[1]
Extinction
editThe Mauritius ground thrush was not mentioned by the early Dutch settlers of Mauritius who began to document the island's fauna and flora, starting in the 16th century,[1] so it was likely extinct before the Dutch began to settle the island on 20 September 1598.
The leading theory towards the extinction of the Mauritius ground thrush is that it may have gone extinct during the 14th century when Arab traders introduced black rats onto the island of Mauritius.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Hume JP (2022). "A new subfossil ground thrush (Turdidae: Geokichla) from Mauritius, Mascarene Islands". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 142 (4): 388–403. doi:10.25226/bboc.v142i4.2022.a2. S2CID 254367025.
- ^ Hume, J. P. (2014b). A review of the past and present bird fauna of the Mascarene Islands. Proc. Roy. Soc. Arts Sci. Mauritius 8: 17–82.
- ^ a b Hume, J. P. (2013). A synopsis of the pre-human avifauna of the Mascarene Islands. Pp. 195–237 in Göhlich, U. B. & Kroh, A. (eds.) Proc. Eighth Intern. Meet. Soc. Avian Paleontol. Evol. Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien.