The Mascarene coot (''Fulica newtonii'') is an extinct species of

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

that inhabited the

Mascarene The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

islands of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

and Réunion. Long known from subfossil bones found in the

Mare aux Songes The Mare aux Songes () swamp is a lagerstätte located close to the sea in south eastern Mauritius. Many subfossils of recently extinct animals have accumulated in the swamp, which was once a lake, and some of the first subfossil remains of dodos w ...

swamp on the former island, but only assumed from descriptions to also have been present on the latter, remains have more recently been found on Réunion also. Early travellers' reports from Mauritius were, in reverse, generally assumed to refer to

common moorhen The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail (bird), rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-v ...

s, but it seems that this species only colonized the island after the extinction of the endemic coot.

Description

The Mascarene coot was a large bird and while not flightless, it had reduced flying ability, so that if pursued, it would have even more preferred to escape by diving than it is already a general habit of the coots. As the bird had considerable stamina, it could have easily crossed the ocean between the islands, explaining why a single species occurred on both islands. The birds looked like oversized

Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

s, being about 45 cm long, but as they were more likely derived from the

red-knobbed coot The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest o ...

, it is not clear whether the distinguishing red knobs (which are easily overlooked) on top of the white

frontal shield A frontal shield, also known as a facial shield or frontal plate, is a feature of the anatomy of several bird species. Located just above the upper mandible, and protruding along the forehead, it is composed of two main parts: a hard, proteinaceo ...

were not present or simply not reported by Dubois, who described the species in some detail in 1674 as "Waterhens which are as large as fowls. They are always black, and have a large white crest on the head."

Extinction

All terrestrial Rallidae species on the Mascarene islands originated in Madagascar and were victims of cat predation which led to a decline in population. However, the primary cause of extinction was over hunting. There is one extant Rallidae species, the Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus pyrrhorrhoa that colonized the islands after the extinction of the Mascarene Coot. Dubois is the last author to mention the coot on Réunion. In 1667, François Martin had already complained that hunters had killed off the population on the Etang de Saint-Paul, although the bird was generally considered to be of disagreeable taste: The species fared little better on Mauritius, with Leguat being, in 1693, the last to record the endemic ''poules d'eau'', saying they were "already rare". Apart from hunting, settlement activity leading to destruction of the marshland habitat seems to have played a major role in the species' extinction.* Leguat, François (1708): ''Voyages et Avantures de François Leguat & de ses Compagnons, en Deux Isles Desertes des Indes Orientales, etc.'' 2: 71. Jean Louis de Lorme, Amsterdam
PDF fulltext available at Gallica: search for "Leguat"
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q922531 Fulica (genus) Bird extinctions since 1500 Extinct animals of Mauritius Birds described in 1867 Birds of Réunion Extinct birds of Indian Ocean islands