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"Extinct animals."
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The extinct alphabet book
Each letter of the alphabet features information about a creature that no longer exists.
Book
lost wolves of Japan
Many Japanese once revered the wolf as Oguchi no Magami, or Large-Mouthed Pure God, but as Japan began its modern transformation wolves lost their otherworldly status and became noxious animals that needed to be killed. By 1905 they had disappeared from the country. In this spirited and absorbing narrative, Brett Walker takes a deep look at the scientific, cultural, and environmental dimensions of wolf extinction in Japan and tracks changing attitudes toward nature through Japan's long history.
Grain farmers once worshiped wolves at shrines and left food offerings near their dens, beseeching the elusive canine to protect their crops from the sharp hooves and voracious appetites of wild boars and deer. Talismans and charms adorned with images of wolves protected against fire, disease, and other calamities and brought fertility to agrarian communities and to couples hoping to have children. The Ainu people believed that they were born from the union of a wolflike creature and a goddess.
In the eighteenth century, wolves were seen as rabid man-killers in many parts of Japan. Highly ritualized wolf hunts were instigated to cleanse the landscape of what many considered as demons. By the nineteenth century, however, the destruction of wolves had become decidedly unceremonious, as seen on the island of Hokkaido. Through poisoning, hired hunters, and a bounty system, one of the archipelago's largest carnivores was systematically erased.
The story of wolf extinction exposes the underside of Japan's modernization. Certain wolf scientists still camp out in Japan to listen for any trace of the elusive canines. The quiet they experience reminds us of the profound silence that awaits all humanity when, as the Japanese priest Kenko taught almost seven centuries ago, we \"look on fellow sentient creatures without feeling compassion.\"
eBook
How to clone a mammoth : the science of de-extinction
\"Could extinct species like mammoths and passenger pigeons be brought back to life? The science says yes. In [this book], Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in 'ancient DNA' research, walks readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro vividly explores the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is being used--today--to resurrect the past\"--Amazon.com.
Book
Review of Parasites Found in Extinct Animals: What Can Be Revealed
Parasitism is inherent to life and observed in all species. Extinct animals have been studied to understand what they looked like, where and how they lived, what they fed on, and the reasons they became extinct. Paleoparasitology helps to clarify these questions based on the study of the parasites and microorganisms that infected those animals, using as a source material coprolites, fossils in rock, tissue, bone, mummy, and amber, analyses of ancient DNA, immunodiagnosis, and microscopy.
Journal Article
Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys
South America is home to some of the most distinctive mammals on Earth-giant armadillos, tiny anteaters, the world's largest rodent, and its smallest deer. But the continent once supported a variety of other equally intriguing mammals that have no close living relatives: armored mammals with tail clubs, saber-toothed marsupials, and even a swimming sloth. We know of the existence of these peculiar species thanks to South America's rich fossil record, which provides many glimpses of prehistoric mammals and the ecosystems in which they lived. Organized as a \"walk through time\" and featuring species from 15 important fossil sites, this book is the most extensive and richly illustrated volume devoted exclusively to the Cenozoic mammals of South America. The text is supported by 75 life reconstructions of extinct species in their native habitats, as well as photographs of fossil specimens and the sites highlighted in the book. An annotated bibliography is included for those interested in delving into the scientific literature.
eBook
The Sacrificial Economy
In the mid-first millennium B.C., the Eanna temple at Uruk
sacrificed a minimum of nine lambs every day in its basic routine
of offerings to its gods; in addition to these, special occasions
and festivals demanded the sacrifice of as many as 90 lambs in a
single day. All told, the Eanna sacrificed about 4,300 lambs per
year. There were more than 120 herdsmen connected to the Eanna at
any given time, and the temple expected there to be tens of
thousands of sheep and goats under their responsibility. These
herdsmen delivered male lambs to the Eanna for sacrifice, and the
temple had an internal infrastructure for the care, maintenance,
and ritual expenditure of these lambs; they also delivered wool,
which the Eanna sold mostly in bulk quantities. This book aims to
analyze the economic organization of this entire system of sheep
and goat maintenance and utilization, to explore the economic and
social relationships between the Eanna and its herdsmen, and to
integrate the study of the Eanna's animal economy into the
developing picture of the Neo-Babylonian temple economy as a whole.
Kozuh's careful examination of the bookkeeping records, the
management records, and legal documents connected with this
substantial enterprise sheds new light on an arcane area of
first-millennium Mesopotamian life that will be sure to enlighten
our understanding of the daily life, economy, and social structure
of this region.
eBook
De-extinction : the science of bringing lost species back to life
In the twenty-first century, because of climate change and other human activities, many animal species have become extinct, and many others are at risk of extinction. Once they are gone, we cannot bring them back or can we?
Book
Ancient DNA : the making of a celebrity science
The untold story of the rise of the new scientific field of ancient DNA research, and how Jurassic Park and popular media influenced its development Ancient DNA research—the recovery of genetic material from long-dead organisms—is a discipline that developed from science fiction into a reality between the 1980s and today. Drawing on scientific, historical, and archival material, as well as original interviews with more than fifty researchers worldwide, Elizabeth Jones explores the field's formation and explains its relationship with the media by examining its close connection to de-extinction, the science and technology of resurrecting extinct species. She reveals how the search for DNA from fossils flourished under the influence of intense press and public interest, particularly as this new line of research coincided with the book and movie Jurassic Park. Ancient DNA is the first account to trace the historical and sociological interplay between science and celebrity in the rise of this new research field. In the process, Jones argues that ancient DNA research is more than a public-facing science: it is a celebrity science.
eBook