Edward Newton described it as a full species Zosterops semiflava in 1867, though subsequently it was considered a subspecies of the Mayotte white-eye.

It was similar in appearance to the Mayotte race of the Malagasy white-eye (Zosterops maderaspatanus mayottensis).

Reports that it also occurred on Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette Island and Mahé are unconfirmed.

Due to the habitat destruction through agricultural development it apparently became extinct between 1870 and 1900 (according to IUCN around 1888).

An expedition in 1940 led by Irish zoologist Desmond Vesey-Fitzgerald failed to find it.