An unprecedented fossil was studied by a team of international investigators.
The otus Mauli, a fossil of a species of owl of Madeira was declared by a team of international scientists as the first extinct bird of the archipelago. They were nocturnal birds of prey that probably lived on land and eat invertebrates, presumably lizards and birds.
It all started twenty years ago, when a German scholar Harald Pieper discovered on a visit to the island the fossilized remains of this bird, which had not been studied in depth until recently. A team of researchers led by paleontologist and scholar of IMEDEA (Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies), Josep Antoni Alcover, found that it was a species of owl, unknown until now. The raptor was distinguished from the other by their wider legs and shorter wings that distinguished from other continental Europeans owls. Yet to determine it's the genetic specificity, a result of geographic isolation of the species, since the fossil is in advanced state of disrepair and it is fragmented. It is believed however, that this single specimen of Madera disappeared due to the pressure generated by the human colonization of the island, the numerous fires which served to thin the dense vegetation of the archipelago and the animals introduced by man who threatened this little bird that flew very little, hence it was easy prey for the new species from the continent.
