Independent Evolution of the Dodo and the Solitaire

Abstract

n the minds of many ornithologists, the extinct Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) and Solitaire (Pezophaps soli- tarius) are closely linked: both are thought to have been giant flightless pigeons (e.g. Mayr and Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1496: 34, 1951; Wetmore, Smithsonian Misc. Coil., 139: 28, 1960) and both were found on the Mascarene Islands. This linkage has almost certainly been responsible for these birds having been placed in the same family or superfamily by most authors.