Necropsittacus rodericanus ( Milne-Edwards, 1867 )

HUME, JULIAN PENDER, 2007, Reappraisal of the parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) from the Mascarene Islands, with comments on their ecology, morphology, and affinities, Zootaxa 1513 (1), pp. 1-76 : 31-34

Rodrigues parrot Necropsittacus rodericanus ( Milne-Edwards, 1867)

Les plus gros [perroquet] sont plus gros qu’in pigeon, text attributed to Tafforet, 1726: 25.

Perroquet, Pingré, 1761., in Alby, J., & Serviable, M (eds.) 1993: 45.

Psittacus rodericanus Milne-Edwards, 1867: 151 , pl.7, figs. 1–2.

Necropsittacus rodericanus ; Milne-Edwards, 1874 [1873]: 18, pl.15, fig. a–b.

Holotype: Anterior portion of rostrum designated by Milne-Edwards (1867: 151, pl. 7, figs. 1–2), whereabouts now uncertain. A specimen catalogued as UMZC 575 matches Milne-Edwards’ description and drawing of the holotype. It was sent by Milne-Edwards to Alfred Newton, Cambridge, some time after 1880 and is still in the collection. This specimen might be the missing holotype but confirming data are lacking.

Measurements: See Appendix 3, tables 1–11.

Type locality: Rodrigues Island, Mascarenes

Distribution: Rodrigues Island, Mascarenes

Etymology: rodericanus , of Rodrigues, the island having been named in honour of the Portuguese navigator Diego Rodriguez, who discovered it in 1528.

Referred material: Subfossil elements collected from the Plaine Corail, Rodrigues: cranium UMZC 562; rostrum UMZC 562; mandible UMZC 562; UMZC 575; BMNH A1455(d); humerus BMNH A1455(R); BMNH A1455(R); BMNH A1455(R); BMNH A1455(L); BMNH A1455(L); BMNH A1455(L); FLMR R205 (L); coracoid BMNH A1455(R); BMNH A1455(L); u/c (L); ulna BMNH A1455(R); BMNH A1455(L); (Rp); (Lp); FLMR R205 (R); carpometacarpus (Ld); (Rd); femur UMZC A1455(R); UMZC A1455(Lp); (Ld); FLMR R141(Lp); FLMR R34(Rd); tibiotarsus UMZC A1455(R); UMZC A1455(L); FLMR R205 (Rp); FLMR R205 (Ld) tarsometatarsus BMNH A1455(L). At least 4 individuals are represented, including one partial associated skeleton.

Diagnosis: As for the genus.

Description and comparison: See Appendix 2e.

Remarks: Necropsittacus was smaller than female Lophopsittacus (e.g. 32% in the tibiotarsus), but had pectoral elements of equivalent size and had proportionally the largest head and jaws of any of the Mascarene parrots (see also Newton & Gadow 1893). The pectoral and pelvic elements are comparable in size to the New Zealand Kaka Nestor meridionalis , so in life it may have looked somewhat similar to Tanygnathus megalorhynchus , but with an even larger head and longer tail ( Figs. 14 & 15 ). For lack of sufficient fossil material, it is not at all certain if this species exhibited the distinctive sexual dimorphism seen in Lophopsittacus , and there are also no cranial characteristics to suggest that it may have had a Lophopsittacus - type crest. Characters of the postcranial skeleton indicate a distant relationship with Lophopsittacus and there are also some similarities to Psittacula and Tanygnathus .

In 1725, Tafforet in 1726 ( Dupon 1973) gave the only detailed description of the Rodrigues parrot in life:

The largest [= Necropsittacus ] are larger than a pigeon, and have a tail very long, the head large as well as the beak. They mostly come on the islets which are to the south of the island, where they eat a small black seed, which produces a small shrub whose leaves have the smell of the orange tree, and come to the mainland to drink water…..they have their plumage green [translation from Cheke & Hume in prep.].

Tafforet also mentions a species of tree on which the parrots (presumably Psittacula exsul as well) fed:

The “Bois de buis” [= Fernelia buxufolia ] is common there [Rodrigues] and very small. The perroquets eat the seeds [my translation].

Today this shrub is endangered and restricted to a few localities ( Strahm 1989). It was considered common during Tafforet’s visit and grew at any altitude on Rodrigues including the islets. Even as early as 1725, the parrots were frequenting or nesting on these numerous islets within the Rodrigues lagoon as did the nowextinct Rodrigues starling Necropsar rodericensis and Rodrigues pigeon ” Columba ” rodericanus . This was also reported by Leguat (1708) and was attributed to the huge rat population inhabiting the mainland. Unfortunately, all of the islets gradually became rat-infested and it can be assumed that Necropsittacus and other endemic birds of Rodrigues disappeared shortly after. In 1761, Pingré regretted most the increasing scarcity of the parrots – because they were so good to eat:

The perruche [= Psittacula exsul ] seemed to me much more delicate [in flavour, compared to the flying-fox]. I would not have missed any game from France if this one had been commoner in Rodrigues; but it begins to become rare. There are even fewer perroquets [= Necropsittacus rodericanus ], although there were once a big enough quantity according to François Leguat; indeed a little islet south of Rodrigues still retains the name Isle of Parrots [Isle Pierrot] [translation from Cheke and Hume in prep].

This suggests that both Rodrigues parrots had become rare by 1761, the larger Necropsittacus particularly so. Pingré noted the large number of fires that were lit to clear the vegetation by tortoise hunters, so deforestation as well as direct hunting had probably seriously reduced parrot populations by this time. Pingré’s account is the last mention of Necropsittacus in life and presumably it died out shortly thereafter.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Author's scaled drawing of the Mascarene parrots, based on skins and skeletal evidence, in comparison with species of Psittacula. A, Psittacula krameri; B, Psittacula echo; C, Psittacula eupatria; D, Psittacula wardi; E, Psittacula exsul; F, Psittacula bensoni new comb.; G, Mascarinus mascarinus; H, Necropsittacus rodericanus; I, Lophopsittacus mauritianus (Type B = female); J, Lophopsittacus mauritianus (Type A = male).

FIGURE 15. Author's scaled drawing illustrating the morphologies of the larger endemic Mascarene parrots. A, Necropsittacus rodericanus (extremely large head and jaws, comparatively small body with long tail); B, Lophopsittacus mauritianus (frontal crest, extremely large head and jaws, comparatively small body with long graduated tail, the two central tail feathers longer than the rest); C, Psittacula bensoni, new comb. (typical Psittacula morphology, most similar to Psittacula eupatria); D, Mascarinus mascarinus (comparatively large head and jaws, stocky body with a moderately long, broad and rounded, not graduated tail).