#raphus

Hello everyone! I just completed my springtime 30-day dinosaur drawing challenge, DinApril. You can find the prompts here. Enjoy the results!

[2968/11080] Dodo - Raphus cucullatus

(extinct)

Order: Columbiformes (pigeons and doves) Family: Columbidae

Final for Raphus cucullatus. In 1598 Dutch sailors landed on the shores of Maritius looking for supplies during an expedition to Indonesia, while on the island they encountered a large, odd looking, flightless bird. According to the surviving translations of that first account the birds were somewhat tasteless, leading to their discoverers initially calling them Walghvogel (Dutch for "tastelss" or "sickly" "bird"). The origin of the name Dodo is somewhat nebulous, but it's possible that it may have it's routes in the word Dodaars, meaning "fat-arse" or "knot-arse."

In less than a century after their first encounter with modern humans they were extinct, most likely due to the introduction of invasive species like pigs and dogs brought by Dutch settlers during their initial occupation. While some of the birds were likely eaten by the newly introduced predators, it's most likely their nesting habits that did them in, laying only one or two eggs at a time with nests on the ground making them easy pickings for imported threats.

Despite their extinction being so recent we don't really know that much about them. For hundreds of years academics debated as to what family they belonged, and the animal developed a bit of mythology as writers and artists began to incorporate them into fantastical scenarios, almost removing it from the public consciousness as a real animal and placing it into the same category as unicorns and dragons. It wasn't until very recently that DNA analysis placed it in the pigeon family, with it's closest living relative being the brightly colored Nicobar pigeon.

Even the Dodo's true appearance is a mystery, as most reconstructions are based on illustrations done after the animal was already gone that were based on over-fed captive animals, badly stuffed specimens, or witness accounts that seem to be inconsistent. In reality the animal was probably thinner in it's build than originally thought and it's coloration and feather coverage may have varied depending on the time of year as evidence of subfossil remains and other birds on the island suggest it probably molted. Most accounts suggest a mix of grays, blacks, browns, and cream whites, with a yellow tipped beak and feet.