Mauritius ground thrush

The Mauritius ground thrush (Geokichla longitarsus) is an extinct species of long-legged^[2] thrush within the Turdidae family.^[3] Endemic to Mauritius,^[1] it probably went extinct during the 14th–16th centuries.

Mauritius ground thrush Temporal range: Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Conservation status
Extinct (possibly before 1598)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Geokichla
Species:	†G. longitarsus
Binomial name
†Geokichla longitarsus Hume, 2022

Description

The 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

The 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]