The São Miguel scops owl (''Otus frutuosoi'') is a small

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

that once inhabited the island of São Miguel, in the

Macaronesia Macaronesia (; ) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of list of islands in the Atlantic Oc ...

n archipelago of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, in the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. Its scientific specific name honours the 16th-century Azorean historian

Gaspar Frutuoso Gaspar Frutuoso ( 1522 – 1591) was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. His major contribution to Portuguese history was his detailed descriptions of the histo ...

History

The owl was described from

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

bones. It is the first extinct owl species to be described from the Azores and only the second (the first being the

Madeiran scops owl The Madeiran scops owl (''Otus mauli'') is a small extinct owl that once inhabited the island of Madeira in the Macaronesian archipelago off the north-west coast of Africa in the North Atlantic Ocean. History Fossil bones of the owl were found ...

) from Macaronesia. The describers suggest that the most likely cause of extinction was human settlement in the 15th century, with its associated habitat destruction and the introduction of alien species.

Description

Compared with the

Eurasian scops owl The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia a ...

, the wings were smaller (two thirds the size of those of the Eurasian species), the legs longer (by 11.6%), and the pelvis both broader and shorter. It was also generally smaller than the Madeira Scops Owl. The proportions of its limbs and

wing loading In aerodynamics, wing loading is the total weight of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed, takeoff speed and landing speed of an aircraft are partly determined by its wing loading. The faster an airc ...

indicate that it lived mainly on the ground and had only a limited ability to fly. The distinctive anatomical features shown by this species has led scientists to conclude that it was an insectivore which probably lived on the forest floor of the

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

, where it would have hunted and sheltered.

Taxonomy

A similar extinct species, the

''Otus mauli'', has deen described from two islands in the

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

archipelago but the São Miguel scops owl differs from the Madieran species by the smaller size of many of its bones, especially the

ulna The ulna or ulnar bone (: ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone in the forearm stretching from the elbow to the wrist. It is on the same side of the forearm as the little finger, running parallel to the Radius (bone), radius, the forearm's other long ...

and

tibiotarsus The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia. A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These ...

References

External links

Artist's rendition of the São Miguel Scops Owl
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14813986 São Miguel scops owl Birds of the Azores Fossil taxa described in 2013 Holocene extinctions Species made extinct by human activities Extinct birds of Atlantic islands São Miguel scops owl