The Marianne white-eye (''Zosterops semiflavus''), also known as Seychelles chestnut-sided white-eye or Seychelles yellow white-eye, is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small bird in the

white-eye The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...

family.

Taxonomy

Edward Newton Sir Edward Newton (10 November 1832 – 25 April 1897) was a British colonial administrator and ornithologist. He was born at Elveden Hall, Suffolk the sixth and youngest son of William Newton (MP for Ipswich), William Newton, MP. He was the ...

described it as a full species ''Zosterops semiflava'' in 1867, though subsequently it was considered a subspecies of the

Mayotte white-eye The Mayotte white-eye or chestnut-sided white-eye (''Zosterops mayottensis'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is now found only on Mayotte in the Comoro Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, su ...

. After a 2006 study showed that the Marianne white-eye is more closely related to the

Karthala white-eye The Karthala white-eye (''Zosterops mouroniensis''), also known as the Mount Karthala white-eye, Grand Comore white-eye, or Comoro white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. As suggested by its name, it is endemic to '' Philippia ...

from

Grande Comore Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...

and the white-eyes from the

Mascarenes 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. Their ...

, the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

restored it to a full species. The IUCN recognized it as full species in 2016.

Description

It reached a size of , the wing length was , the length of the tail was and the length of the culmen . It was generally greenish yellow with chestnut-coloured flanks and a conspicuous white eye-ring. The forehead and a line above the eyes were yellow. The top of the head and the back were yellow olive. The wings and the tail were black and the underparts were pale yellow. It was similar in appearance to the Mayotte race of the

Malagasy white-eye The Malagasy white-eye (''Zosterops maderaspatanus'') is a species of bird in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae. Found in Madagascar and Seychelles, its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist low ...

(''Zosterops maderaspatanus mayottensis''). Nothing is known of its ecology.

Distribution and habitat

It is known with certainty only from the small granitic islet of

Marianne Island Marianne Island is a small Granitic Seychelles, granitic island of the Seychelles. in size, it is located 3.8 km ESE of Félicité Island. The island was a former coconut plantation, and on the western side of the island is a long beach. The ...

[] in the Seychelles about east of La Digue. Reports that it also occurred on Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette Island and Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé are unconfirmed. Due to the habitat destruction through agricultural development it apparently became extinct between 1870 and 1900 (according to

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

around 1888). An expedition in 1940 led by Irish zoologist

Desmond Vesey-Fitzgerald Leslie Desmond Edward Foster-Vesey-Fitzgerald MBE (born 9 June 1909 in London, UK; died 3 May 1974 in Nairobi, Kenya), was an Irish-born entomologist, ornithologist, conservationist, and plant collector. In 1930 Vesey-Fitzgerald graduated to Bac ...

failed to find it. There is one specimen in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

in London.

Footnotes

References

* Greenway, James C. (1967): ''Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World'' * Luther, Dieter (2005): ''Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q1766876 Birds described in 1867 Taxa named by Edward Newton Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds of Seychelles Extinct birds of Indian Ocean islands Zosterops