The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
ISSN 2307-8235 (online)
IUCN 2008: T22728791A38970731
Threskiornis solitarius, Reunion Ibis
Assessment by: BirdLife International
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: BirdLife International. 2012. Threskiornis solitarius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2012: e.T22728791A38970731. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20121.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Pelecaniformes
Threskiornithidae
Taxon Name: Threskiornis solitarius (Mourer-Chauviré & Moutou, 1987)
Synonym(s):
• Raphus solitarius Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)
Common Name(s):
• English:
Reunion Ibis, Réunion Flightless Ibis, Réunion Ibis, Réunion Solitaire
Taxonomic Source(s):
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife
International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International.
Taxonomic Notes:
If the Réunion 'solitaires' were indeed T. solitarius, then both Victoriornis imperialis (Hachisuka 1953)
and Borbonibis latipes (Mourer-Chauviré and Moutou 1987) become synonyms.
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Extinct ver 3.1
Year Published:
2012
Date Assessed:
May 1, 2012
Justification:
This species was found on the Mascarene Islands, but is now considered Extinct having not been seen
since 1761. Hunting is likely to have driven its decline.
Previously Published Red List Assessments
2008 – Extinct (EX)
2004 – Extinct (EX)
2000 – Extinct (EX)
1994 – Extinct (EX)
1988 – Extinct (EX)
Geographic Range
Range Description:
Threskiornis solitarius is known from bones recently discovered on Réunion (to France) (Mourer-
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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Chauviré and Moutou 1987). It seems likely that the 'solitaire' known from numerous early accounts
from Réunion (Cheke 1987) and Rodrigues, Mauritius, was in fact this ibis (Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1995),
vindicating arguments for independent evolution of the Mascarene 'solitaires' (Storer 1970), in which
case the last account is that of Abbé Gui Pingré (1763) a French astronomer who visited Rodrigues in
1761 to observe the transit of Venus and reported the bird to be near extinction. He had been told by
the Commander, Marlène de Puvigné, that it was found only in remote corners of the island. This
statement was the last mention of the bird (Staub 1996).
Country Occurrence:
Regionally extinct: Réunion
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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Distribution Map
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
It is likely to have inhabited freshwater wetlands.
Systems: Terrestrial, Freshwater
Threats
Hunting is likely to have been the main cause of its demise.
Credits
Assessor(s):
BirdLife International
Reviewer(s):
Symes, A. & Butchart, S.
Facilitators(s) and
Compiler(s):
Brooks, D., Butchart, S., Khwaja, N. & Mahood, S.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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Bibliography
Cheke, A.S. 1987. An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions
and introductions of land vertebrates. In: Diamond, A.W. (ed.), Studies of Mascarene island birds, pp. 589. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
Hachisuka, M. 1953. The Dodo and kindred birds. Witherby, London.
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 19 June 2012).
Mourer-Chauviré, C.; Bour, R.; Ribes, S. 1995. Was the Solitaire of Réunion an ibis? Nature 373: 568.
Mourer-Chauviré, C.; Moutou, F. 1987. Découverte d'une forme récemment éteinte d'ibis endémique
insulaire de l'île de la Réunion Borbonibis latipes n. gen. n. sp. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des
Sciences Serie D 305: 419-423.
Staub, F. 1996. Dodo and Solitaires, myths and reality. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Arts and
Sciences of Mauritius: 89-122.
Storer, R. W. 1970. Independent evolution of the Dodo and the Solitaire. The Auk 87: 369-370.
Citation
BirdLife International. 2012. Threskiornis solitarius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012:
e.T22728791A38970731. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
5. Wetlands (inland) -> 5.7. Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater
Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)
Resident
Suitable
Yes
Use and Trade
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
End Use
Local
National
International
Food - human
Yes
Yes
No
Conservation Actions in Place
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Research, Monitoring and Planning
Action Recovery plan: No
Systematic monitoring scheme: No
In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management
Conservation sites identified: No
Occur in at least one PA: No
Invasive species control or prevention: No
In-Place Species Management
Successfully reintroduced or introduced beningly: No
Subject to ex-situ conservation: No
In-Place Education
Subject to recent education and awareness programmes: No
Included in international legislation: No
Subject to any international management/trade controls: No
Additional Data Fields
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
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Distribution
Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO): Unknown
Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): No
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
Population
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
Habitats and Ecology
Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: Unknown
Generation Length (years): 10.1
Movement patterns: Not a Migrant
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Threskiornis solitarius – published in 2012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22728791A38970731.en
7
The IUCN Red List Partnership
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™