Podilymbus gigas is an extinct species of grebe, a flightless bird that was endemic to the area of Lake Atitlán, in Guatemala. In 1958, new species of fish were introduced into the lake to favour the development of fishing. These competed with the grebe for food (typically crustaceans) as well as preying on grebe chicks, with the result that the population swiftly declined. A conservation project was launched immediately, and within a decade, grebe numbers had recovered to pre-crisis levels. Unfortunately, Guatemala was hit by a powerful earthquake in 1976, which fractured the lake bed. The water level dropped at a stroke, with the result that the distributional area of the species was significantly reduced. This led to an inevitable decline in the population, which by 1983 had fallen to just 30 or so individuals. The last sighting was in 1989, and since 1994 the species has been acknowledged as extinct. Our specimen, a female captured in 1958 at Santa Caterina Palopo (on the banks of the lake), was donated to the Museum by professor Jorge A. Ibarra, a well-known Guatemalan naturalist.
