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