20th Century - Page 7 of 7

The day-flying Levuana moth had a wingspan of 16 millimeters. Its head and thorax were steel-blue, while abdomen and legs were ochre-colored. (© Rosa Henderson, Landcare Research, CC BY 3.0 AU, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

12. April 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Levuana Moth

A plague for the coconut industry Beginning around the 1870s, swarms of moths started destroying coconut plantations. In this way, the Levuana moth became a serious pest of coconut plants on Viti Levu, the main island of the Fiji group in the South Pacific. At first, the Levuana or coconut

Caribbean monk seal in 1910 at the New York Aquarium. A total of 18 animals were kept in captivity, but none of them bred successfully. (© New York Zoological Society., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mammals

3. April 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Caribbean Monk Seal

Sharks and humans were the only enemies of the Caribbean monk seal The Italian navigator Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean monk seal—the first mammal of the New World—in 1494 during his second voyage to the Americas, on the coast of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. He called

There is no photo of the passenger pigeon mite itself. The image shows mites using a dung beetle as a means of transport. (© Heiko Wagner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Invertebrates

19. March 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Passenger pigeon mite

Species extinctions trigger chain reactions When animal or plant species go extinct, a chain reaction is set in motion. Often, at least one other organism dies out along with it. Thus, with the passenger pigeon, the passenger pigeon mite also went extinct in 1914. In a study published in 2004,

St.-Helena-Riesenohrwurm ( Jamestown Museum)

Specimen of a Saint Helena giant earwig in the Jamestown Museum on the island of St Helena. (© Roger S. Key, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

14. March 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Saint Helena Giant Earwig

The largest earwig in the world At 8.4 centimeters in length, the Saint Helena giant earwig was once the largest earwig in the world. Its body was about five centimeters long, its forceps 3.4 centimeters. For comparison: most other earwig species are one to two centimeters long. As its name

Lesser bilbies reached a head-body length of 20 to 27 centimeters, a tail length of twelve to 17 centimeters and a weight of between 300 and 400 grams. (© Sheepbaa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mammals

11. March 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Lesser Bilby

Introduced foxes and cats preyed on the lesser bilby Red foxes, domestic cats and wild rabbits introduced to Australia are considered the main reason why the marsupial species lesser bilby became extinct in the middle of the 20th century. After its discovery in 1887, the population of the bilby declined

A drawing of the Florida wolf by James Audubon from the book The viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845 to 1848). (© John James Audubon (Life time: 1785-1851), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mammals

1. March 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Florida Red Wolf

The Florida red wolf did not have red fur The Florida red wolf does not bear this name because of its fur color, which was black, but because it is now considered an extinct subspecies of the red wolf (Canis rufus). This was not always the case. At first, the