Tag Archives: Silhouette

Biantes parvulus (Hirst)

Small Seychelles Harvestman (Biantes parvulus)

The Small Seychelles Harvestman was described in 1911; it is known to have inhabited the islands of Mahé, Praslin and Silhoutette in the Seychelles archipelago.

The species has a body length of about 0.6 cm (including the palpi); it is dark brown; the distal ends of the tibiae of the second- and fourth legs are white; the distal tarsal segment of the third and the distal end of the metatarsus and the tarsal segments of the fourth are also pale-colored; the remaining segments of the legs being dark brown in color. [1]

The Small Seychelles Harvestman was only ever found once on Praslin in 1908 and was last recorded from Mahé and Silhouette in 1972; it has never been found since and is likely extinct now.

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syn. Hinzuanius parvulus Hirst

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palp from the inner side

Depiction from: ‘ S. Hirst: The Araneae, Opiliones and Pseudoscorpiones. The Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1905, under the leadership of Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, M.A. Vol 3. No. XVIII. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Second Series. Vol. 14. Zoology.: 379-395. 1910-1912’

(not in copyright)

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References:

[1] S. Hirst: The Araneae, Opiliones and Pseudoscorpiones. The Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1905, under the leadership of Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, M.A. Vol 3. No. XVIII. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Second Series. Vol. 14. Zoology.: 379-395. 1910-1912

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edited: 28.02.2024

Tomosvaryella sylvaticoides (Lamb)

Seychelles Big-headed Fly (Tomosvaryella sylvaticoides)

The Seychelles Big-headed Fly was described in 1922 based on one male- and three female specimens, of which apparently only two of the female specimens still exist.

The species was found on the islands of Mahé and Silhouette, Seychelles but has apparently never been recorded since 1908, when the types had been collected. [1]

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syn. Pipunculus sylvaticoides Lamb

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References:

[1] Marc De Meyer: A revision of the Afrotropical species of Tomosvaryella Aczél, 1939 (Diptera: Pipunculidae) Annals of the Natal Museum 34(1): 43-101. 1993

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edited: 21.08.2022

Eudorylas semiopacus (Lamb)

Semiopaque Big-headed Fly (Eudorylas semiopacus)

The Semiopaque Big-headed Fly was described in 1922, apparently based on two specimens that had been collected in 1908 on the plateau of Mare aux Cochons on Silhouette as well as in 1909 near the western coast of Mahé, Seychelles.

This was apparently a parasitoid of planthopper bugs. [1]

The Semiopaque Big-headed Fly has not been found in recent surveys and appears to be extinct.

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syn. Pipunculus semiopacus Lamb

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References:

[1] Justin Gerlach: Red Listing reveals the true state of biodiversity: a comprehensive assessment of Seychelles biodiversity. Phesluma 20: 9-22. 2012

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edited: 11.02.2024

Mecistocephalus sechellarum Demange

Silhouette Geophilomorph Centipede (Mecistocephalus sechellarum)

The Silhouette Geophilomorph Centipede was described in 1981 based on a single specimen that was collected from a wooded site on Mt. Daban on Silhouette Island in the Seychelles.

The species reaches a length of at least 4,8 cm, it is mainly pale yellowish colored, its head and front segments are reddish brown. [1]

The species was never recorded since and is considered most likely extinct.

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References:

[1] Lucio Bonato; Alessandro Minelli: The geophilomorph centipedes of the Seychelles (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha). Phelsuma 18: 9-38. 2010

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edited: 28.04.2021

Glabrennea silhouettensis (Verdcourt)

Silhouette Glabrennea Snail (Glabrenna silhouettensis)

The Silhouette Glabrennea Snail was described in 1994, it restricted to a very small area on Mt. Dauban on the island of Silhouette, Seychelles Islands, when it was discovered in 1990.

The species apparently was an inhabitant of leaf litter.

The Silhouette Glabrennea Snail was only ever found at its type locality, once in 1990, and a for second time one year later in 1991, when its population was already declining. All subsequent searches (2000, 2009, 2010) at the type locality and other suitable areas failed to find the species again which thus is considered extinct. [1]

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References:

[1] Justin Gerlach: Red List ing reveals the true state of biodiversity: a comprehensive assessment of Seychelles biodiversity. Phesluma 20: 9-22. 2012
[2] Justin Gerlach: Changes in non-marine mollusc populations in the Seychelles islands 1986-2012. Phelsuma 20: 23-38-2012

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edited: 26.11.2018

Nephele leighi Joicey & Talbot

Leigh’s Sphinx Moth (Nephele leighi)

This species was described in 1921, it is apparently known from only four specimens that were collected on the islands of Mahé and Silhouette, Seychelles Islands.

The last specimen, a male, was obviously collected in 1969, since that date there has not been any trace of this species, which is now feared to be extinct.

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female

Photo: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
http://sphingidae.myspecies.info/file-colorboxed/9071
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

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References:

[1] Pat Matyot: The hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of Seychelles: identification, historical background, distribution, food plants and ecological considerations. Phelsuma 13. 55-80. 2005
[2] Justin Gerlach: Red Listing reveals the true state of biodiversity: a comprehensive assessment of Seychelles biodiversity. Phelsuma 20: 9-22. 2012

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edited: 27.04.2022

Palaeornis wardi Newton

Seychelles Parakeet (Palaeornis wardi)

The Seychelles Parakeet was described in 1867, it was already very rare at that time and restricted to only two islands in the Seychelles, Mahé and Silhouette, it might formerly have occurred on all of the islands.

The species was closest related to the Alexandrine Parakeet (Palaeornis eupatria (L.)) from which it differed mainly by the lack of a rose-colored neck collar; it was formerly also merged with that species. 

The Seychelles Parakeet was last recorded in 1883 when the last known specimen died in captivity, the species died out because it was heavily hunted for being a ‘pest’ to crops. 

Marianne North, a botanical artist, depicted a live pair of this species on the island of Mahé when she visited the family of Dr. James Brooks, a colonial medical officer on the Seychelles. She also wrote some notes about these two birds:

“He and his Greek wife were very kind and hospitable in their offers to me. I went one day to their house, and painted their parrots, which came originally from Silhouette: queer, misshapen birds, with enormous beaks and patches of red and yellow badly put on, one of them having a black ring round its neck. Both were quite helplessly bullied by common pigeons, which came and ate up their food, while they jabbered in a melancholy way, and submitted. They had absolutely no tops to their heads, which perhaps accounted for their stupidity. They had a stand on the back verandah, where they slept and were fed. They were not tied up, but went and stole their own fruit off the neighbouring trees.” [1]

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References:

[1] Anthony S. Cheke: Animals depicted by Marianne North in her Seychelles paintings. Phelsuma 21: 47-57. 2013
[2] Michael P. Braun; Thomas Datzmann, Thomas Arndt; Matthias Reinschmidt; Heinz Schnittker; Norbert Bahr; Hedwig Sauer-Günth; Michael Wink: A molecular phylogeny of the genus Psittacula sensu lato (Aves: Psittaciformes: Psittacidae: Psittacula, Psittinus, Tanygnathus, †Mascarinus) with taxonomic implications. Zootaxa 4563(3): 547-562. 2019

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Depiction from: ‘Alfred and Edward Newton: On the Psittaci of the Mascarene Islands. The Ibis, ser. 3(6): 281-289. 1876’

(not in copyright)

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edited: 14.06.2020