Many other species endemic to Rodrigues became extinct after humans arrived, and the island's ecosystem was heavily damaged. Before humans arrived, forests covered the island entirely, but very little of those remain today. The Rodrigues rail lived alongside other recently extinct birds, such as the Rodrigues solitaire ("Pezophaps solitaria"), the Rodrigues parrot ("Necropsittacus rodricanus"), Newton's parakeet ("Psittacula exsul"), the Rodrigues starling ("Necropsar rodericanus"), the Rodrigues owl, the Rodrigues night heron ("Nycticorax megacephalus"), and the Rodrigues pigeon ("Nesoenas rodericanus"). Extinct reptiles include the domed Rodrigues giant tortoise ("Cylindraspis peltastes"), the saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise ("Cylindraspis vosmaeri"), and the Rodrigues day gecko ("Phelsuma edwardnewtoni").