Tag Archives: Fernando de Noronha

Hyperaulax ramagei (E. A. Smith)

Ramage’s Noronha Snail (Hyperaulax ramagei)

Ramage’s Noronha Snail was described in 1890; it is only known from the main island of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago offshore north-eastern Brazil, where they were found to be “imbedded in sandy mud on a raised reef and have a semi-fossilized appearance”. [1]

The species must have gone extinct somewhat prior to their description as many specimens appeared quite fresh and still were bearing an intact periostracum (see photo below).

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The genus contains one additional species, also endemic to the same archipelago, Ridley’s Noronha snail (Hyperaulax ridleyi (E. A. Smith)); this species is still alive today. [2][3]

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Photo from: ‘Rodrigo B. Salvador; Daniel C. Cavallari: Taxonomic revision of the genus Hyperaulax Pilsbry, 1897 (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Odontostomidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 95(2): 453-463. 2019’

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References:

[1] H. N. Smith: Mollusca. In: Ridley HN, ed. Notes on the Zoology of Fernando Noronha. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 20: 473-570. 1890
[2] A. V. L. Freitas; M. S. Miranda; f. D. Passos: Land snails of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil. American Malacological Bulletin 37: 66-69. 2019
[3] Rodrigo B. Salvador; Daniel C. Cavallari; Carl C. Christensen; André V. L. Freitas; Marcel S. Miranda; Flávio D. Passos: The endemic land snails of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brasil. Tentacle 30: 6-8. 2022

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edited: 22.01.2024

Rallus sp. ‘Fernando de Noronha’

Fernando de Noronha Rail (Rallus sp.)

The Fernando de Noronha Rail is an enigmatic bird known from subfossil remains that had been found in the late 1970s on the island of Fernando de Noronha, 354 km offshore the coast of Brazil.:

Remains of a new species of rail (Rallidae) were also found, bringing the total known land-bird fauna to four species. Most of the elements of the skeleton, from several different individuals, are represented. This was a medium- size rail with the wings reduced, but to a lesser extent than in many flightless species. It does not appear to be particularly close morphologically to any of the species of rails from mainland Brazil. I have briefly alluded to this form elsewhere …, but it has yet to be formally described.

The form may have been a member of the genus Laterallus or Rallus, however, the species has still not been described. [1]

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References:

[1] S. L. Olson: Natural history of vertebrates on the Brazilian islands of the mid South Atlantic. National Geographic Society Research Reports 13: 481-492. 1981

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edited: 03.05.2022

Noronhomys vespuccii Carleton & Olson

Fernando de Noronha Rat (Noronhomys vespuccii

When Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian merchant, explorer, and navigator that lived from 1451 to 1512 and

from whose name the term “America” is derived, set foot on the island of Fernando de Noronha in 1503, he reported of: “marine and land birds without number” and also “very large rats.” [1]

This rat species had not been properly identified until subfossil remains were found abundantly in the 1970s.:

The most frequently encountered fossils were those of a large rodent of the family Cricetidae, very different from the recent remains of the introduced rats (Rattus), which were also encountered on the dunes. This cricetid is almost certainly the rat mentioned by Vespucci. It is a new species, and possibly a new genus in the subfamily Sigmodontinae.” [1]

The species was finally described in 1999; it very likely died out very soon after the discovery of the island accompanied by the accidental introduction of rats. [2]

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References:

[1] S. L. Olson: Natural history of vertebrates on the Brazilian islands of the mid South Atlantic. National Geographic Society Research Reports 13: 481-492. 1981
[2] Michael D. Carleton; Storrs L. Olson: Amerigo Vespucci and the rat of Fernando de Noronha: a new genus and species of Rodentia (Muridae, Sigmodontinae) from a volcanic island off Brazil’s continental shelf. American Museum Novitates 3256: 1-59. 1999

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edited: 03.05.2022