Mascarene petrel [SEP] parent taxon
Mascarene petrel
The Mascarene petrel ("Pseudobulweria aterrima") is a medium-sized, dark gadfly petrel.
Also sometimes known as the Mascarene black petrel, this species was known from four specimens found in the nineteenth century on the island of Réunion. Two birds were found dead in the 1970s, and there have been rare observations of birds in the waters south of Réunion since 1964. It is also known from subfossil remains from the island of Rodrigues. It is known to breed in very small numbers in the
the hummingbirds and the petrels.
In 1955 Jouanin published his first independent species description after realizing that the new species, named Jouanin's petrel, differed significantly from the Mascarene petrel. This description began a long period of his life dedicated to the research of petrels in the Indian Ocean. While his primary goal was to find the breeding grounds of the Mascarene petrel, he discovered another new species, Barau's petrel, breeding on the island of Réunion. He also analyzed the differences between the Réunion and Seychelles populations of Audubon