Fregilupus varius

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PASSERIFORMES	STURNIDAE

Scientific Name:

Fregilupus varius

Species Authority:

(Boddaert, 1783)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Reunion Starling, Réunion Starling

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Extinct ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

History:

2004	–	Extinct
2000	–	Extinct
1994	–	Extinct
1988	–	Extinct

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Fregilupus varius was endemic to Réunion (to France)². It was described by most visitors to the island from 1669 onwards, and was apparently common as late as the 1830s². However, the last specimen was shot in 1837, and the species became extinct between 1850 and 1860, Nineteen specimens survive¹.
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Nothing is known, although it is likely to have been a forest species.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Reasons for its extinction are unclear but may possibly be due to an introduced disease, combined with changing population pressure due to the emancipation of slaves in 1848, forest fires, drought and deforestation². It has been described as tame and easy to knock down with sticks, so hunting may have also played a part.

Major Threat(s):

Reasons for its extinction are unclear but may possibly be due to an introduced disease, combined with changing population pressure due to the emancipation of slaves in 1848, forest fires, drought and deforestation². It has been described as tame and easy to knock down with sticks, so hunting may have also played a part.

Bibliography [top]

	Berger, A. J. 1957. On the anatomy and relationships of Fregilupus varius, an extinct starling of the Mascarene Islands. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 113: 225-272. Cheke, A. S. 1987. An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates. In: Diamond, A.W. (ed.), Studies of Mascarene island birds, pp. 5-89. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.

Berger, A. J. 1957. On the anatomy and relationships of Fregilupus varius, an extinct starling of the Mascarene Islands. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 113: 225-272.

Cheke, A. S. 1987. An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates. In: Diamond, A.W. (ed.), Studies of Mascarene island birds, pp. 5-89. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2008. Fregilupus varius. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2012.
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