Flightless birds: When did the dodo become extinct?
Abstract
The extinction of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus L.; Fig. 1) is commonly dated to the last confirmed sighting in 1662, reported by Volkert Evertsz on an islet off Mauritius. By this time, the dodo had become extremely rare - the previous sighting having been 24 years earlier - but the species probably persisted unseen beyond this date. Here we use a statistical method to establish the actual extinction time of the dodo as 1690, almost 30 years after its most recent sighting.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- November 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1038/426245a
- Bibcode:
- 2003Natur.426..245R