Mauritius scops owl

Mauritius scops owl
Pencil drawing of a recently killed specimen by Paul Philippe Sanguin de Jossigny, from around 1770
Conservation status
Extinct (ca. 1850)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Otus
Species:	†O. sauzieri
Binomial name
†Otus sauzieri (Newton & Gadow, 1893)
Location of Mauritius
Synonyms
Strix sauzieri Newton & Gadow, 1893 Scops commersoni Oustalet, 1896 Strix newtoni (male) Rothschild, 1907 Tyto sauzieri (female) Hachisuka, 1953 Tyto newtoni (male) Hachisuka, 1953

The extinct Mauritius scops owl (Otus sauzieri), also known as Mauritius owl, Mauritius lizard owl, Commerson's owl, Sauzier's owl, or Newton's owl, was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius. It is known from a collection of subfossil bones from the Mare aux Songes swamp, a detailed sketch made by de Jossigny in 1770, a no less detailed description by Desjardins of a bird shot in 1836, and a number of brief reports about owls, the first being those of Van Westzanen in 1602 and Matelief in 1606.