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Flightless birds: when did the dodo become extinct?

David L Roberts·Andrew R Solow
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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.

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AnimalsBiodiversityBirdsMathematicsModels, BiologicalPopulation DensityStatistical DistributionsTime FactorsJournal Article

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David L Roberts, Andrew R Solow. 2003-11-20. Flightless birds: when did the dodo become extinct?. https://doi.org/10.1038/426245a

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