Bermuda night heron
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SPECIES
Nyctanassa carcinocatactes

The Bermuda night heron (Nyctanassa carcinocatactes ) is an extinct heron species from Bermuda. It is sometimes assigned to the genus Nycticorax. It was first described by Storrs L. Olson & David B. Wingate (2006) from subfossil material found in the Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in caves and ponds of Bermuda. Its anatomy was rather similar to its living relative, the yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea ), but it had a heavier bill, a more massive skull and more robust hind limbs. The specialization of the bill and the hind limbs showed that it was apparently adapted to the feeding on land crabs.

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There are also early historian reports referring to the species. It possibly became extinct due to the settlement of the Bermuda islands in the 17th century. On Bermuda the aforementioned yellow-crowned night heron has been introduced to act as its equivalent in the ecosystem.

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References

1. Bermuda night heron Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_night_heron
2. Bermuda night heron on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/62286255/119207935

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