Foudia delloni (Reunion Fody)

[adzebill]

Foudia delloni sp. nov. Size as other fodies (roughly that of a House Sparrow Passer domesticus); breeding male bright red on head, neck, throat, and upperparts of wings, brown on back, paller on belly; tail brown. Female and eclipse male brown on head, neck and wings where male red, paler brown on throat, otherwise similar to male.
Differed from F. rubra in having the wing coverts red not grey-brown (male in full plumage), and from F. madagascarensis in the restricted area of red in the male.
Known only from Reunio Island, Indian Ocean, where extinct soon after 1672.
It is named after Gabriel Dellon, the first traveller to describe it; the descripcion is based on two contemporary accounts, Dellon's in 1668 and Dubois's in 1671-1672.

"Foudia bruante" seems to be only a colour variant of F. madagascarensis, and do no match to Dubois' description of the fody formerly found in Reunion.

Source: Lost Land of the Dodo
A. Cheke & J. Hume.

[Melanie]

Source: Lost Land of the Dodo

(c) Julian Hume

[Peter]

Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Chordata Aves Passeriformes Ploceidae

Scientific Name: Foudia delloni
Species Authority: Cheke & Hume, 2008
Common Name(s):
English – Reunion Fody
Taxonomic Source(s): del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria: Extinct ver 3.1
Year Published: 2016
Date Assessed: 2016-10-01
Assessor(s): BirdLife International
Reviewer(s): Butchart, S. & Symes, A.
Facilitator/Compiler(s): Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J. & Symes, A.
Justification:
This species was endemic to the island of Réunion (to France), where it was once described as abundant. It was last seen shortly after 1672 and was likely driven to extinction following the arrival of rats on the island. It is therefore classified as Extinct.

Geographic Range

Range Description: This species was endemic to the island of Réunion (to France). It was once described as abundant and as a pest that destroyed entire crops, but was last seen shortly after 1672 and was likely driven to extinction following the arrival of rats on the island (Cheke and Hume 2008).
Countries occurrence:
Regionally extinct:
Réunion
Additional data:
♦ Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO): Unknown
♦ Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): No ♦ Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) - km2: 2200
♦ Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO): Unknown ♦ Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO): No
♦ Continuing decline in number of locations: Unknown
♦ Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations: No
♦ Upper elevation limit (metres): 2200
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population

Population: No extant population remains.
Additional data:
♦ Continuing decline of mature individuals: Unknown
♦ Extreme fluctuations: No ♦ Population severely fragmented: No
♦ Continuing decline in subpopulations: Unknown
♦ Extreme fluctuations in subpopulations: No ♦ All individuals in one subpopulation: No

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology: Little is known.
Systems: Terrestrial
Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: Unknown
Generation Length (years): 3.6
Movement patterns: Not a Migrant

Threats

Major Threat(s): The species was likely driven to extinction following the arrival of rats on the island (Cheke and Hume 2008).

Citation: BirdLife International. 2016. Foudia delloni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T103811601A104235524. Downloaded on 11 December 2016.

www.iucnredlist.org/details/summary/103811601/0

[Melanie]

The Réunion Fody and Sonnerat’s Shrew and the validity of scientifically naming animals described without physical types
ANTHONY S. CHEKE, JULIAN P. HUME

Abstract

An essential requirement of the current edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999) is to designate a holotype or syntypes for a species or subspecies newly described after 1999. Where specimens exist this makes sense (and is indeed essential), but is meaningless when describing a species-group taxon from an old illustration or written account in which specimens were not preserved or even necessarily taken at all. The naming of two species which one or both of us described post-1999 from old accounts without designating types has been singled out as invalid on this basis. As the revisers of the ICZN apparently did not anticipate further naming of taxa from old accounts, and thus allowed a logical paradox to arise, we strongly recommend that, in respect of descriptions from old accounts with no specimens, this rule be waived by a retrospective amendment, as it is likely that other similar cases exist, and it serves no-ones’ interest to strike down otherwise properly described names on a pointless technicality. Prior to our proposed change in the Code, in this note Foudia delloni Cheke & Hume sp. nov. (Aves: Passeriformes: Ploceidae), from Réunion Island, and Diplomesodon sonnerati Cheke sp. nov. (Mammalia: Soricomorpha: Soricidae), from southern India, are named anew using the same names and the original diagnoses.



Keywords

Aves, Foudia delloni, Diplomesodon sonnerati

www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4382.3.10