Provenance and history of the Thirioux dodos

ABSTRACT

The exact provenance of the two associated dodo skeletons collected in the vicinity of Port Louis, Mauritius, around the turn of the 19th century is shrouded in mystery, as well as their collector, the amateur naturalist and barber Louis Etienne Thirioux (1846–1917). The most complete specimen resides in the Mauritius Institute, Port Louis, whereas the second, which is a partial composite, is in the Durban Natural Science Museum (South Africa). Early correspondence between Thirioux and Alfred Newton, Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge University, detailed museum records kept by Ernest Chubb from the Durban Natural Science Museum, and early photographic records of Thirioux's finds shed some light on the early history of the specimens. The Port Louis specimen appears to consist of the bones of a single bird, apart from what appear to be an extra pair of lacrimals, and is essentially complete, including, for instance, the wrist bones, the patella, and the tarsal sesamoid, with the sole exception of the phalanx digiti minoris (present in the Durban specimen). These elements have never been described or illustrated before. The Durban specimen contains elements that most likely derived from a very small number of birds, possibly as few as two. Records indicate that some reconstruction has been undertaken on the Durban specimen, including the discarding of a cervical vertebra. However, regardless of unanswered questions regarding the history and provenance of the Thirioux dodo specimens, they represent the most complete, associated skeletal remains in existence.

Citation for this article: Claessens, L. P. A. M., and J. P. Hume. 2015. Provenance and history of the Thirioux dodos; pp. 21–28 in L. P. A. M. Claessens, H. J. M. Meijer, J. P. Hume, and K. F. Rijsdijk (eds.), Anatomy of the Dodo (Raphus cucullatus L., 1758): An Osteological Study of the Thirioux Specimens. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 15. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(6, Supplement).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank T. Worthy, J. Parish, L. Steel, and G. Dyke for comments that improved the manuscript, and J. Parish for discussions and generous access to archive materials. We thank G. Beebeejaun, V. Rupear (MI); D. Allan (DNSM); R. Allain, C. Sagne, and C. Bens (MNHN); S. Chapman (NHMUK); M. Brooke and M. Taylor (UCMZ); and M. Nowak-Kemp (OUMNH) for access to materials in their care, and R. Marchant for photographs of material at the MGL. L.C. gratefully acknowledges a Naturalis Biodiversity Center Temminck fellowship, funding from the National Science Foundation (Aves 3D project, DBI 0743327), and a College of the Holy Cross Research and Publication grant. J.P.H. thanks Special Funds (NHM), Department Investment Fund DIF (NHMUK), and the Percy Sladen Centenary Fund.

Submitted December 17, 2014; revisions received October 8, 2015; accepted October 15, 2015.

Memoirs Editor: Randy Irmis.