Liste ausgestorbener Tiere seit dem 15. Jahrhundert
The riddle of Schomburgk’s deer “No one seems ever to have seen this animal; all that we think we know about it is the existence of its antlers”, noted Phya Jolamark Bhicharana wrote in 1932 about Schomburgk’s deer. The American biologist Francis Harper also wrote in 1945 that this deer—which
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For the Wangkangurru, an Aboriginal people, the desert rat-kangaroo (Ngudlukanta) had been known for thousands of years. But Western science only became aware of the marsupial from the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae) in the 1840s, when the then governor of South Australia, George E. Grey, sent three specimens to the naturalist
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Survival under extreme conditions As early as 1942, the American zoologist Glover Morrill Allen warned in Extinct and Vanishing Mammals of the Western Hemisphere about the threats that could endanger the survival of the Little Swan Island hutia, which occurred only on Little Swan Island: “At present the species seems
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Named after Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba The scientific species name of the Yemen gazelle, bilkis, are derived from Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, a legendary figure in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Her kingdom, renowned for its wealth and cultural flourishing, lay in southern Arabia, in what is now
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From the most common to an extinct bird species When European explorers reached eastern North America in the 16th century, they were amazed at the huge flocks of birds they found in the ancient forests. Compared to Europe, where large parts of the forests had already been cut down, they
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Record: A swarm of 12.5 trillion locusts The correct biological term for animals that form large groups is “swarm,” but when it comes to large assemblies of migratory locusts, the term “plague” is used because they not only migrate but also devastate entire regions. Migratory locusts differ from ordinary grasshoppers
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From isolated paradise to endangered habitat Stephens Island, a small rocky island in the Cook Strait, is renowned for its unique wildlife. Despite covering only 1.5 square kilometers, the island boasts a remarkable ecosystem that was once home to numerous endemic species, including many land and seabirds. Among its notable
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Tasmanian wolf or Tasmanian tiger: Neither wolf nor tiger Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman, who in 1642 was the first European to reach the island of Tasmania, reported “footprints, not unlike the claws of a tiger”. In doing so he had discovered the island’s top predator, which later became known under
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There have been five mass extinction events in the history of Earth’s biodiversity, all caused by natural phenomena. It is believed that the sixth mass extinction is currently underway, this time solely driven by human activities. The Thylacine, the aurochs, and the dodo are just a few of the most
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A bird with extraordinary traits About half a century after the extinction of the Himalayan quail in northern India, another monotypic species disappeared there: the pink-headed duck, also known as the carnation duck. Although much has been written about this duck, many accounts remain incomplete or contradictory. Only a few
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