Kingdom Animalia Genus Sula Higher classification Booby Order Suliformes | Family Sulidae Phylum Chordata Rank Subspecies | |
Similar Bird, Booby, Heard Island shag, Macquarie shag, Campbell shag | ||
The Tasman booby (Sula dactylatra tasmani) or Lord Howe masked booby is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae, described from bones found on Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands in the Tasman Sea (van Tets et al. 1988). It was believed to have become extinct in the late 18th century or early 19th century on Lord Howe Island because of predation by visiting sailors, with the last sight record dating from 1788, when it was already extinct on Norfolk Island.
However, this taxon has more recently (Priddel et al. 2005) been considered to be a subspecies of the masked booby, Sula dactylatra tasmani, still extant as a breeding species on Lord Howe Island, and more recently described as S. d. fullagari. Holdaway & Anderson (2001) attribute subfossil material from Norfolk Island simply to Sula dactylatra. Research at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand indicates that the proposal of Priddel's team is correct, and the masked booby subspecies fullagari is the same as tasmani. The latter name, being older, would thus apply to both.