Megascops nudipes newtoni Lawrence, 1860:259
Virgin Islands screech-owl, Virgin Islands screech owl, St. Thomas screech owl
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Gymnoglaux Newtoni Lawrence, 1860:259 (original combination); Otus nudipes newtoni Lawrence, 1860:59; Otus nudipes newtani Lawrence, 1860:259 [orth. error; used by Scott, 1965]; Megascop nudipes newtoni Lawrence, 1860:259 [orth. error used by (Gallardo & Thorstrom, 2019:111)]
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: 1927 or before (Wetmore, 1927); 1980 (Suckling et al., 2004)
IUCN RedList status: "likely to be extinct"
Nest predation by the aggressive Pearly-eyed thrasher (Margarops fuscatus) was a partial cause of the extinction of M. n. newtoni (Raffaele et al., 1998; Arendt, 2006).
Distribution
Virgin Islands
"formerly known from the islands of Vieques and Culebra (PR); St. Thomas and St. Johns, US Virgin Islands; and Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and Guana, British Virgin Islands"
(Gallardo & Thorstrom, 2019:111-112)
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
"Museum: BMNH, MNBHU, USNM" (Weick, 2006:89).
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Lawrence, G. N. (1860). Ann Lyc Nat Hist NY 7: 259.
Other references:
Arendt, W. J. (2006) Adaptations of an Avian Supertramp: Distribution, Ecology, and Life History of the Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus). United States Department of Agriculture – Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, General Technical Report IITF-GTR-27.
Gallardo, Julio C. and Thorstrom, Russell. (2019). Status and Conservation of the Raptors in the West Indies: A Review. Caribbean Naturalist, Special Issue No. 2: 90-134.
König, C., and F. Weick. 2008. Owls of the World. 2nd Edition. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, USA. 528 pp.
Matthews, Thomas J. et al. (2022). Threatened and extinct island endemic birds of the world: Distribution, threats and functional diversity. Journal of Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14474
Moreno, J.A. 1998. Status of the Virgin Islands Screech-Owl. Journal of Field Ornithology 69: 557-562.
Raffaele, H.; Wiley, J.; Garrido, O.; Keith, A.; & Raffaele, J. (1998). A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.
Robertson, W.B., Jr. 1962. Observations on the birds of St. John, Virgin Islands. Auk 79: 44-76.
Suckling, Kieran, Slack, Rhiwena and Nowicki, Brian. (2004). Extinct and the Endangered Species Act. Centre For Biological Diversity. 63 pp.
Weidensaul, S. (2015). Owls of North America and the Caribbean. Peterson Reference Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, New York, NY, USA. 352 pp.
Wetmore, Alexander. (1927). The birds of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. New York Acad. Sci., Set. Surv. Porto Rico Virgin Islands 9: 245-571.
Wiley, J. W. (1986). Status and conservation of raptors in the West Indies. Birds of Prey Bulletin 3: 57-70.
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/9260/nudipes-newtoni-virgin-islands-screech