Dodo remains from an in situ context from Mare aux Songes, Mauritius

@article{Meijer2012DodoRF,
  title={Dodo remains from an in situ context from Mare aux Songes, Mauritius},
  author={Hanneke J. M. Meijer and Arike Gill and Perry G. B. de Louw and Lars W. Hoek Ostende and Julian P. Hume and Kenneth F. Rijsdijk},
  journal={Naturwissenschaften},
  year={2012},
  volume={99},
  pages={177-184}
}
Since 2005, excavations at Mare aux Songes, Mauritius, have revealed the presence of a very rich, ∼4,200-year-old fossil bone bed including dodo (Raphus cucullatus) bones and bone fragments. The recently excavated dodo assemblage comprises at least 17 individuals and is characterised by the presence of small and fragile skeletal elements, a dominance of leg elements and an absence of juveniles. The hydrology of the area suggests that dodos, like many other species, were probably lured to Mare… 
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A review of the dodo and its ecosystem: insights from a vertebrate concentration Lagerstätte in Mauritius

TLDR
This interdisciplinary research approach provides an ecological framework for the dodo, complementing insights on its anatomy derived from the only associated dodo skeletons known, both of which were collected by Etienne Thirioux and are the primary subject of this memoir.

The discovery of a Dodo Raphus cucullatus Linn . ( Aves , Columbiformes ) in a highland Mauritian lava cave

In September 2006, during a survey of Mauritian caves for cockroaches (Blattodea), a skeleton of a Dodo (Raphus cucullatus Linn. 1758) termed ‘Dodo Fred’ was serendipitously discovered in a highland…

Rediscovery of a lost Lagerstätte: a comparative analysis of the historical and recent Mare aux Songes dodo excavations on Mauritius

The Mare aux Songes (MAS), Mauritius, Mascarene Islands, is best known for the remarkable quality and quantity of macro- and micro-fossil remains, including those of the iconic Dodo Raphus…

A synopsis of the pre-human avifauna of the Mascarene Islands

The isolated Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues are situated in the southwestern Indian Ocean. All are volcanic in origin and have never been connected to each other or any other…

The giant tortoise, Aldabrachelys, and its bearing on the biogeography and dispersal of terrestrial biota in the Western Indian Ocean

Combining histology, stable isotope analysis and ZooMS collagen fingerprinting to investigate the taphonomic history and dietary behaviour of extinct giant tortoises from the Mare aux Songes deposit on Mauritius

Mauritius since the last ice age: paleoecology and climate of an oceanic island

Four centuries of human occupation has left Mauritius with <5% of its original vegetation cover. Consequently, little is known about floral and faunal distribution patterns and long-term ecological…

A deadly cocktail: How a drought around 4200 cal. yr BP caused mass mortality events at the infamous ‘dodo swamp’ in Mauritius

TLDR
A direct relation between the mass mortality events in the Mare aux Songes (MAS) rock valley and the 4200 cal. yr BP drought is demonstrated, which ultimately led to mass mortality of larger vertebrates, including two species of giant tortoises and dodos in a <2-ha region.

Palaeoproteomics of bird bones for taxonomic classification

TLDR
The authors' proteomic analyses enabled taxonomic classification of all ancient bones, thereby complementing phylogenetics based on DNA, and grouped bones of dodo and modern rock dove grouped in a single clade.

Megabeasts under the microscope: a closer look at Quaternary extinctions in the Asia-Pacific

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