The Réunion rail (''Dryolimnas augusti''), also known as Dubois' wood-rail, is an extinct rail species which was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to 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 ...

island of

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

. The scientific name commemorates French poet

Auguste de Villèle Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...

(1858-1943) whose interest in the history of Réunion and hospitality made it possible for numerous naturalists to discover and explore the caves of Réunion. The subfossil remains of the Réunion rail were unearthed in 1996 in the Caverne de la Tortue on

and scientifically described in 1999. The material includes two complete tarso-metatarsi, five vertebrae, one sacrum, one coracoid, two humeri, one ulna, three femora, ten pedal phalanxes and one fragment of the left mandibula. The appearance of the bones identifies the Réunion rail as a close relative of the white-throated rail and the Aldabra rail. The large and stout tarsometatarsus shows that it might have been the largest known taxon within the genus '' Dryolimnas''. Historically there is one travel report which might refer to this species. In 1674 Sieur Dubois mentioned a rail in his report ““ which he named «Râle des Bois» (translated as wood-rail). This species should be not confused with the Réunion swamphen which was referred to as «Oiseau Bleu» in the same report. The Réunion swamphen was described as being as large as the Réunion ibis (previously known as Réunion solitaire), while the Réunion rail might have reached approximately the size of the common moorhen. The Réunion rail was probably flightless because the proportions of the wing bones in comparison to those of the leg bones are similar to those of the Aldabra rail, which is likewise flightless. As Dubois' account is the only historical reference about the Réunion rail, it might be possible that it became extinct in the late 17th century.

References

* Cécile Mourer-Chauviré, Roger Bour, Sonia Ribes & François Moutou: ''The avifauna of Réunion Island (Mascarene Islands) at the time of the arrival of the first Europeans''. In: ''Avian Paleontology at the Close of the 20th Century: Proceedings of the 4th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution'', Washington, D.C., 4–7 June 1996. Storrs L. Olson (Edit.) 89:p. 1-38. 1999 * Extinct birds of Indian Ocean islands Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds of Réunion Birds described in 1999 {{Gruiformes-stub