Noel’s Giant Barn Owl (Tyto noeli)

Noel’s Giant Barn Owl was described in 1972 on the basis of subfossil and fossil remains that had been found at abundant cave sites on the island of Cuba, as well as some very few remains found on Jamaica.

The species occurred also on Barbuda, were its remains originally had been described as a distinct species (Tyto neddi Steadman & Hilgartner) in 1999, but were later assigned to this species.

The Noel’s Giant Barn Owl survived well into the Holocene, the remains that had been found on Jamaica could be dated to an age of about 3700 years.

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References:

[1] William Suárez; Storrs L. Olson: Systematics and distribution of the giant fossil barn owls of the West Indies (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae). Zootaxa 4020 (3): 533-553. 2015

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edited: 08.09.2019