the food sailors ate

[Mission]

The great joy of reading period accounts is that they call animals by whatever random and misspelled name they come across, often using very badly spelled versions of the local language/dialect. So before you can determine just what is and is not extinct in the account, you must first figure out what the heck they're even talking about.

[William Brand]

The great joy of reading period accounts is that they call animals by whatever random and misspelled name they come across, often using very badly spelled versions of the local language/dialect. So before you can determine just what is and is not extinct in the account, you must first figure out what the heck they're even talking about.

Too true. I had at least three different accounts of species being harvested to extinction for settlers and sailors in the Caribbean, but lost the references five years back along with numerous other materials I had collected. I do know of a great many extinction incidents in Madagascar and surrounding islands, such as Reunion during the Golden Age. The area is notorious for extinction, especially when you consider the fate of the Dodo.

The Réunion Shelduck or Kervazo's Egyptian Goose (Alopochen kervazoi) is an extinct species of goose from Réunion. It was a close relative of the Egyptian Goose and was about the same size. There is only one description remaining, that of Dubois made in 1674. He merely mentions that they were similar to European geese but smaller, with the bill and feet being red. Apart from that, the species is only known from brief reports and subfossil bones. Waterfowl on Réunion were overhunted. As early as 1667, François Martin complained of unsustainable hunting. The last record of the species is a 1709 listing of de la Merveille who stated that ducks and geese occurred "in quantity", but as Feuilley had not listed waterfowl in his 1705 catalogue of Réunion's animals, de la Merveille's record is obviously based on obsolete hearsay information. Thus, the last record of the species appears to be the report of Père Bernardin in 1687. The species probably became extinct during the 1690s.

The Mauritian Shelduck (Alopochen mauritianus) is an extinct species of goose from Mauritius. It was a close relative of the Egyptian Goose. Known from one or two subfossil carpometacarpus bones and a few descriptions, this bird was about the size of a Brent Goose. Its appearance is unknown, except that its wings showed the typical color pattern of shelducks. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Malagasy Shelduck; in this case it would become the nominate subspecies, as Alopochen mauritianus mauritianus. Sometimes even in scholarly sources one can find references to a supposed "Mauritius Swan" or "Mauritius Comb Goose". These refer to the initial misidentification of the Alopochen mauritianus bones as belonging to the genus Sarkidiornis, but as early as 1897 the true nature of this bird was realized. Like its Réunion relative, the Mauritian Shelduck was rapidly hunted to extinction. Still reasonably plentiful in 1681, the population collapsed soon afterwards, and Leguat found "wild geese" to be "already rare" in 1693. In 1698, governor Deodati declared them to be extinct.

Elephant birds, which were giant ratites native to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 17th century. Étienne de Flacourt, a French governor of Madagascar in the 1640s and 1650s, recorded frequent sightings of elephant birds. Also the famous explorer and traveler Marco Polo mentions very large birds in his accounts of his journeys to the East during the 12th-13th centuries. These earlier accounts are today believed to describe elephant birds. Aepyornis was the world's largest bird, believed to have been over 3 metres (10 ft) tall and weighing close to 400 kg (880 lb). Remains of Aepyornis adults and eggs have been found; in some cases the eggs have a circumference of over 1 metre (3 ft) and a length up to 34 centimetres (13 in). The egg volume is about 160 times greater than a chicken egg.

Réunion Pochard, Aythya cf. innotata (Réunion, Mascarenes, c.1690s) The bird became extinct on both islands almost simultaneously and for the same reason: overhunting. On Mauritus, the "grey teals" were found in "great numbers" in 1681, but in 1693, Leguat (1708) found "wild ducks" to be already rare. In 1696, governor Deodati mentioned the species for the last time to be extant. On Réunion, the species is last mentioned to occur "in quantity" in de la Merveille's 1709 listing of the island's wildlife, but as Feuilley had not listed waterfowl in his 1705 report, de la Merveille's record is obviously based on obsolete hearsay information. The last reliable Réunion record of the species appears to be the report of Père Bernardin in 1687; thus, the date of extinction can be assumed to be the late 1690s on Mauritius, and a few years earlier on Réunion. The reports of Bernardin and (1710) Boucher are puzzling insofar as that they mention both geese, sarcelles (teals, this species) as well as canards (ducks, larger than sarcelles) as occurring or having occurred on Réunion. It is possible that a carpometacarpus bone apparently of an Aythya diving duck is referrable to these canards. If so, these birds were probably related to the Madagascar Pochard, of which only small numbers are known to remain.

The Red Rail or Red Hen of Mauritius, Aphanapteryx bonasia, is an extinct rail. It was only found on the island of Mauritius. The Red Rail, which today is only known from a large number of bones, some descriptions and a handful of drawings and paintings, was a flightless bird, somewhat larger than a chicken (about 50 cm). Its plumage was reddish brown all over, and the feathers were fluffy and hairlike; the tail was not visible in the living bird and the short wings likewise also nearly disappeared in the plumage. It had a long, slightly curved, brown bill and comparatively (for a rail) long legs. Altogether, it resembled a lean kiwi more than a rail. The Red Rail is discussed in almost every report about Mauritius from 1602 on; however, the details provided are repetitive and do not shed much light on the bird's life history; rather, they dwell upon the varying ease with which the bird could be caught according to the hunting method and the fact that when roasted it was considered a good substitute for pork. Most of the information on the appearance of the bird comes from the painting by Joris Hoefnagel, done from a bird living in the menagerie of Emperor Rudolph II around 1600. More enigmatically, a bird resembling a Red Rail is figured in Francesco Bassano the Younger's painting Arca di Noè ("Noah's Ark"). As Bassano died before the Dutch colony was established on Mauritius in 1598, the origin of the bird is a mystery. Finally, there are some rather crude depictions of what apparently is this bird in three of the 1620s dodo paintings by Roelant Savery. What can be said is that around 1600, possibly earlier, a small number of Red Rails reached Europe alive. In addition, there are four more or less crude drawings done on Mauritius. The rail was hunted to extinction in the century after its discovery. The dodo was considered rather unpalatable, and usually only killed out of curiosity or boredom, but the Red Rail was a very popular gamebird for the Dutch and French settlers. While it could usually make good its escape when chased, it was easily lured by showing the birds a red cloth, which they approached to attack; a similar behavior was noted in its relative, the Rodrigues Rail. The birds could then be picked up, and their cries when held would draw more individuals to the scene, as the birds, which had evolved in the absence of predators, were curious and not afraid of humans. As it nested on the ground, pigs which ate their eggs and young probably contributed to its extinction. When François Leguat (1708), who had become intimately familiar with the Rodrigues Rail in the preceding years, came to Mauritius in 1693, he remarked that the Red Rail had already become rare; he was the last source to mention the bird. It can be assumed to have been extinct around 1700. Determination of the rail's status and disappearance is complicated because the local name for the dodo, Todaersen (or dodaersen, "fat-arses") was transferred to the Red Rail, which was just as plump-rumped, with the dodo's impending extinction.

The Réunion Rail (Dryolimnas augusti) also known as Dubois's Wood-rail is an extinct rail species which was endemic to the Mascarenes island of Réunion. The scientific name commemorates French poet Auguste de Villèle (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 Réunion 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 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 “Les voyages faits par le sievr D.B. aux isles Dauphine ou Madagascar, & Bourbon, ou Mascarenne, és années 1669, 70, 71, & 72: dans laquelle il est curieusement traité du cap Vert de la ville de Surate des isles de Sainte Helene, ou de l'Ascension: ensemble les moeurs, religions, forces, gouvernemens & coûtumes des habitans desdites isles, avec l'histoire naturelle du païs. Paris : Chez Claude Barbin“ which he named «Râle des Bois» (translated as wood-rail). This species should be not confused with the Réunion Swamphen which referred too as «Oiseau Bleu» in the same report. The Réunion Swamphen was described as large as the Réunion Sacred 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 Aldabra rail which is likewise flightless. As Dubois's account is the only historical reference about the Réunion rail it might be possible that it became extinct in the late 17th century.

The Mascarene Coot (Fulica newtoni) is an extinct species of coot that inhabited the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. Long known from subfossil bones found on the former island, but only assumed from descriptions to also have been present on the latter, remains have more recently been found on Réunion also. Early travellers' reports from Mauritius were, in reverse, generally assumed to refer to Common Moorhens, but it seems that this species only colonized the island after the extinction of the endemic coot. The Mascarene Coot was a large bird and while not flightless, it had reduced flying ability, so that if pursued, it would have even more preferred to escape by diving than it is already a general habit of the coots. As the bird had considerable stamina, it could have easily crossed the ocean between the islands, explaining why a single species occurred on both islands. Dubois is the last author to mention the coot on Réunion. In 1667, François Martin had already complained that hunters had killed off the population on the Etang de Saint-Paul, although the bird was generally considered to be of disagreeable taste. The species fared little better on Mauritius, with Leguat (1708) being, in 1693, the last to record the endemic poules d'eau, saying they were "already rare". Apart from hunting, settlement activity leading to destruction of the marshland habitat seems to have played a major role in the species' extinction.

The Bermuda Night Heron (Nyctanassa carcinocatactes) is an extinct heron species from Bermuda. It is sometimes assigned to the genus Nycticorax. It was first described in 2006 by Storrs L. Olson and David B. Wingate from subfossil material found in the Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in caves and ponds of Bermuda. Its anatomy was rather similar to its living relative, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron (N. violacea), but it had a heavier bill, a more massive skull and more robust hind limbs. The specialization of the bill and the hind limbs showed that it was apparently adapted to the feeding on land crabs. There are also early historian reports referring to that species. It possibly became extinct due to the settlement of the Bermuda islands in the 17th century.

The Réunion Night Heron (Nycticorax duboisi) is an extinct species of heron formerly occurring on the Mascarene island of Réunion. It was for a long time only known from a single description, that of Dubois published in 1674. He speaks of "bitterns" the size of fat chickens which had grey plumage with white feather-tips and green feet. When subfossil bones were finally recovered in the late 20th century, they were initially described under a new name as the original description was believed to be invalid. However, only the genus initially assigned by Rothschild was incorrect. The Réunion Night Heron was the largest Nycticorax of the Mascarene Islands and larger even than the Nankeen Night Heron. Unlike its relatives from Mauritius and Rodrigues, it was not adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle; its wings were strong and its legs not adapted to chasing prey on foot. Dubois mentions that the birds lived on fish. Altogether, the Réunion species would have appeared very much like an oversized juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron like the one in this image. Of all the reports mentioning ardeid birds on Réunion, only the one of Dubois can be assigned to this species. Significantly, Feuilley in 1705 did not mention these birds, and only in the second half of the 18th century are herons on Réunion referred to again, with the Striated Heron being the only species found, but "very rare". Thus, the Réunion Night Heron probably became extinct around 1700. However, as there are no good reasons for its disappearance (neither habitat destruction nor introduced predators would have affected it much, nor does it seem to have a favorite target for hunters), it may have persisted until considerably later.

The Mauritius Night Heron (Nycticorax mauritianus) is an extinct night heron species from Mauritius. It is only known by seven subfossil bone remains consisted of cranium, pelvis, coracoid, ulna, radius, and tarsometatarsus found in Mare aux Songes. Only the coracoid and the tarsometatarsus are left today. It was scientifically discussed in 1893 by Alfred Newton and Hans Gadow from the Cambridge University. Newton and Gadow measured the tarsometatarsus with 81 to 87 mm. It became presumedly extinct in the late 17th century and was probably first mentioned by François Leguat in 1693 who described them as "great flight of bitterns".

The Réunion Sacred Ibis, Threskiornis solitarius, is an extinct bird species that was native to the island of Réunion. It is probably the same bird discovered by Portuguese sailors there in 1613. Until recently assumed by biologists to have been a relative of the Dodo (Raphus cucullatus), it was thus classified as a member of the didine pigeons (subfamily Raphinae) and called the "Réunion Solitaire" (Raphus solitarius). It had a white plumage, with black wingtips and tail, and a dark, naked head. Bill and legs were long, the former slim and slightly downcurved. All in all, it looked much like a small Sacred Ibis with short wings. The Réunion Sacred Ibis lived solitarily in deep forests near freshwater, where it fed on invertebrates like worms and crustaceans which it caught or dug out of the mud with its long beak. If threatened, it is described to have tried to get away on foot, but using its wings for assistance and to glide short distances, especially downhill. The old vernacular name "Réunion Flightless Ibis" is thus misleading. Travellers' reports as well as bone measurements indicate that it was well on its way to flightlessness, but could still fly some distance on its own power after a running take-off. The last account of the "Réunion Solitaire" was recorded in 1705, indicating that the species probably became extinct sometime early in that century. The bird was at various times identified with 17th century descriptions and paintings of a white dodo-like bird, which did not match the descriptions of solitaries (reclusive non-gregarious large birds) seen by contemporary explorers on Réunion very well – apart from being mostly white. Due to this, some assumed two species (Raphus solitarius and Victoriornis imperialis) co-existed on Réunion (or "Bourbon", as it was called in former times) – one dodo-like, one resembling the Rodrigues Solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria). The latter was a dodo relative that generally was not a social bird but for breeding formed monogamous couples. These defended a territory around their large, easily recognized ground nest, deep in the woods; they were thus said to have a "solitary" lifestyle. Though the same French word was used for the birds of both Rodrigues and Réunion, the Réunion Solitaire was given this name because only single individuals were usually encountered all year round. Similar nesting behaviour as on Rodrigues (in the Réunion bird, or in the dodo for that matter) was never reported, marking a conspicuous difference between the two species.

The bird was first described as follows by Mr. Tatton, the Chief Officer of Captain Castleton:

The Réunion Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas duboisi, but see below) is an extinct species of pigeon that formerly lived on the Mascarene island of Réunion. It is known from the description of a rusty-red pigeon given by Dubois in 1674 and a single subfossil humerus that agrees with that of the Pink Pigeon of Mauritius in generic characteristics, except being slightly longer. Also, Dubois' reference to the bill being red at the base and the eyes being surrounded by a red ring suggest that this species was closely allied to the Mauritus taxon. Its genus Nesoenas was often synonymized with Columba in the past, but more recently it has been synonymized with Streptopelia. As the Pink Pigeon and the Madagascar Turtle Dove cannot be firmly placed in either of these two genera but apparently represent a distinct lineage that diverged early, probably from the ancestor of Streptopelia, it seems (at least for the time being) to be best to separate them again in Nesoenas. This restores the genus of the Réunion Pink Pigeon to the one it was originally described under. There seem to have been one to three other species of columbid on Réunion (not counting the invalidated "Réunion Solitaire"). Bontekoe mentioned ramiers (doves) with blue wings in 1619 as being abundant; apparently a species of Alectroenas. Dubois, on the other hand, referred to no less than four kinds of pigeons: ramiers, tourterelles (turtle doves) and two kinds of pigeon, one rusty red - the present species -, the other slate grey. Either the ramiers or the tourterelles of Dubois could refer to a local population of the Madagascar Turtle Dove, possibly an extinct subspecies, which is known from one subfossil humerus and one ulna. The slate-grey bird or the ramiers, respectively, seem to be the birds described by Bontekoe. What the remaining form - the tourterelles or the slate-grey pigeons, respectively - might have been is completely unresolvable at this time, although the possibility of it being a relative of the Rodrigues Grey Pigeon cannot be entirely discounted. Since the Réunion Pink Pigeon was only mentioned explicitly by Dubois, little can be said about its extinction. The last reports of native pigeons were by Père Bernardin in 1687 and by Guillaume Houssaye in 1689, although the Alectroenas may have existed for a somewhat longer time. Feuilley in 1705 mentioned that all native pigeons were extinct; it seems likely that introduced rats and cats, combined with excessive hunting, were the causes of the birds' extinction.

The Malagasy Turtle Dove (Nesoenas picturata), also known as the Malagasy Turtle-dove, is a bird species in the pigeon and dove family, Columbidae. It is found in British Indian Ocean Territory, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion, and Seychelles. It has several subspecies. The Rodrigues Turtle-dove, an extinct but fairly enigmatic taxon from Rodrigues on the Mascarenes may have been another subspecies of N. picturata or a distinct species N. rodericana. The Pink Pigeon (N. mayeri) is its closest living relative, and together they form a lineage apart from both the typical pigeons (Columba) and the typical turtle-doves (Streptopelia), slightly closer to the latter if anything. Consequently, either these two are both placed in Streptopelia, or – as is probably the most accurate solution at present – separated as Nesoenas. The present species was in former times sometimes placed in a monotypic genus Homopelia. While this is not outright wrong, if the Rodrigues population is also placed in Homopelia and Nesoenas is considered distinct too, it would probably be considered oversplitting by modern authors. Though some island populations are rare – some precariously so – as a whole N. picturata is considered a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.

The Réunion Owl (Mascarenotus grucheti) was a small owl that occurred on the Mascarene island of Réunion, but became extinct before living birds could be described; it is only known from subfossil bones. It belongs to the Mascarene owls of the genus Mascarenotus, and most likely was similar to a Long-eared Owl in size and appearance, but with nearly naked legs. The Mascarene Owls were, however, more closely related to the genus Ninox. Compared to the Mauritius Owl and the Rodrigues Owl, it was the most terrestrial species of the genus, with long legs and possibly somewhat reduced flight capability; more probably though it was simply smaller than the Mauritius bird - between that species and the one from Rodrigues in size - but had equally long legs: the only suitable food available in quantity on Réunion were small birds. It can be assumed to have preyed on sleeping songbirds in the manner of the unrelated but convergent Grallistrix "stilt-owls" from Hawai'i. As the bird is not mentioned by any contemporary report, it was either very secretive or became extinct more early than its congeners. Notably, it is not contained in the comprehensive listing of local fauna that Dubois made in 1671-72. By that time, the only introduced predators were pigs. Inferring from the ecology, it is likely that the birds succumbed to predation by rats and maybe cats as they must have been able enough for flight not to be killed off by pigs and thus only became extinct after Dubois' visit, at some date closer to the year 1700. If the bird was ground-nesting, however, it might have been extinct even by the time Dubois did not record it, but this hypothesis does not seem to agree what can be inferred from the rather long survival of its Mauritius relative.

[landlubbersanonymous]

Are all those creatures extinct via consumption by humans?

[William Brand]

Many of them were hunted to extinction, but a few died as a result of the shift in the ecosystem by displacement and the killing of the other species. Some early accounts talk about settlers killing dodos out of boredom, but while the human impact is the primary cause at Madagascar and Reunion, it is not always the case everywhere. For example, a fish in Utah lake was fished heavily for years, but when the lake dropped dramatically because of drought one year and froze at a level too low that winter, the fish were actually overcrowded under the ice and the population never recovered and eventually went extinct. Still, the human impact can be heavy. In Cuba, many species of native rats and mice were killed by the introduction of European rats brought over on ships.

I only brought it up because it's interesting to imagine that sailors ate something that no longer exists today. Pirates traveling around the Cape of Good Hope into the spice regions of the Orient could have eaten dodo, ibis, pigeons and crane that are just gone now.

[Mission]

It is interesting. Thanks for putting that list together. I am occasionally stymied when I read some of these books by not being sure what plant, animal or medical tool the author is talking about because the labels were not standardized. Then all you have to go by is the description which can be like hunting for a needle in a haystack if you're not an expert in whatever area the author is talking about.

[William Brand]

I found some more extinct birds from the period...

Martinique Parrot (Amazona Martinicana) - 1722, Martinique

Labat's Conure (Aratinga Labati) - 1722, Guadaloupe

Guadaloupe Red Macaw (Ara Guadeloupensis) 1722 - Guadaloupet

Chatham Is. Swan (Cygnus sumnerensis) - 1690 Chatham

Leguat's Gelinote (Aphanapteryx Leguati) - 1730 Rodriguez

I still can't find the account I discovered about extinct fish in the Caribbean. I remember reading about several animals that were hunted to extinction in the West Indies, but I can't find it. That's the problem with tripping over an article while looking for something unrelated. You can never find it again.

[landlubbersanonymous]

It is interesting. Thanks for putting that list together. ...

Ditto that!

Killer Shrews! Link to interesting info on a cousin of the Hispaniolan solenodon. This predatory shrew in Cuba has venom in its teeth. (Which was thought to be extinct but is still around.)

http://www.edgeofexi...s_info.php?id=4

Edited October 15, 2011 by landlubbersanonymous

[Mission]

Hey, I know it's been awhile (like... years) since we discussed seines (nets) in this thread, but I came across another reference to them in Extracts from the Diaries of Dr. John Covel, 1670-1679 and I thought I'd throw it into the mix. (To this day I can't think of seines without Dutchman coming to mind.)

"Our Capt. caried a net on shoar, which by all our Seamen was called a Sain... It was a sort of drag net. Having obtained leave, we turned it twice or

__

thrice in the sea, but we catch't few fish, and those very small ones. They wer Mullet, Barboni, and our common plaice and a little sort of what we call Maids." (Covel, p. 120-1)

[Mission]

I was fishing on the web for images when I found this in a rather interesting book called Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents by John Franklin Jameson at Project Gutenberg. It's a bill of lading for provisions supplied to the privateering ship Revenge in 1741.

"Account of the Provisions taken on Board the Sloop Revenge att Rhode Island, Viz.

Beef 50 bb. at £7. 10 per bb. - £375

Pork 18 bb. £12 per bb. - £216

Flowr 64 bb. £8 per bb. - £512

Bread 50 C. £4 per C.- £200

Beans 10 bus. - £8

Rum 100 Gall. 10s. per Ga. - £50

Sugar 1C.2 £8 per C. - £12

Hogs fatt a Cagg - £7

(Totaling) £1380" (page 385)

[Quartermaster James]

I was fishing on the web for images when I found this in a rather interesting book called Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents by John Franklin Jameson at Project Gutenberg. It's a bill of lading for provisions supplied to the privateering ship Revenge in 1741.

Nice find!

[Mission]

Yes, I really hope to read the relevant bits of that book. It looks quite informative.