Red-moustached Fruit Dove
Ptilinopus mercierii
Range and population
Ptilinopus mercierii was endemic to forest in the Marquesas,
French Polynesia
, with the
nominate subspecies on Nuku Hiva and subspecies tristrami on Hiva Oa3.
While the former is only known from the type collected during the 1836-1839
voyage of the Venus, the latter is known from at least 11 specimens, the last
collected by the Whitney Expedition in 19223. The species was
reported on
Hiva Oa
in 19802, but this was probably a mistake1.
Its extinction has been attributed to predation by the introduced Great Horned
Owl Bubo virginianus3, as well as by introduced rats
and cats1.
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