Reunion Ibis

Open encyclopedia reference

The Réunion ibis or Réunion sacred ibis (Threskiornis solitarius) is an extinct species of ibis that was endemic to the volcanic island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The first subfossil remains were found in 1974, and the ibis was first scientifically described in 1987. Its closest relatives are the Malagasy sacred ibis, the African sacred ibis, and the straw-necked ibis. Travellers' accounts from the 17th and 18th centuries described a white bird on Réunion that flew with difficulty and preferred solitude, which was subsequently referred to as the "Réunion solitaire". In the mid 19th century the old travellers' accounts were incorrectly assumed to refer to white relatives of the dodo. This was assumed because one of the accounts specifically mentioned dodos on the island, and 17th-century paintings of white dodos had recently surfaced. Additionally, both it and the Rodrigues solitaire, an actual dodo relative, were referred to as "solitaires" due to shared habits.

Wikipedia contributors, Réunion ibis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:55:17.844889+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Threskiornis solitarius (de Sélys-Longchamps, 1848)

Name authority

(de Sélys-Longchamps, 1848)

Common name

Reunion Ibis

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Pelecaniformes

Family

Threskiornithidae

Genus

Threskiornis

Extinction status

Recorded extinct

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPelecaniformes
10. familyThreskiornithidae Poche, 1904
11. genusThreskiornis G. R. Gray, 1842
12. speciesThreskiornis solitarius (de Sélys-Longchamps, 1848)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Threskiornis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 30 records assigned to Threskiornithidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=824145 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:56LQF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.