The Réunion pochard (''Aythya'' sp.), also known as the Mascarene Islands pochard, is an undescribed

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 ...

species of

diving duck The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of Anatidae, the diverse and very large family that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The diving ...

that lived on the island of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. In 1999 there were two carpometacarpi subfossils found by

Cécile Mourer-Chauviré Cécile Mourer-Chauviré (born 1939) is a French paleontologist specializing in birds of the Eocene and the Oligocene. In her early career, she discovered with her husband the Laang Spean cave site of prehistoric humans in Cambodia. Career Cé ...

. There are only two historical records of a bird that meets its description, one from Bernardin in 1687 and one from Boucher in 1710. It is likely similar to the Madagascar pochard if not the same species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q117200078 Extinct animals of Africa Extinct birds of Indian Ocean islands Aythya Undescribed vertebrate species