Unlike the dinosaurs (who were ultimately doomed by a combination of massive volcanic eruptions, asteroid strike and climate disruption), our modern extinctions can be traced to human destruction of these species’ habitats and populations. All the cool geological time divisions (Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, etc) are named for observed changes in the fossil species that appear in their rock layers.īut it’s hard not to feel the dusty glass-eyed gaze of the stuffed passenger pigeon as an accusation. Your kind shall also eventually perish from the Earth.” Species extinction (hopefully after a good run of a few million years) is a natural part of the evolutionary process. The poor stuffed passenger pigeon is a kind of species memento mori. The spine plates on the stegosaurus model at the Milwaukee Public Museum reminded child-me of the discarded leaves of beloved steamed artichokes (“Look, Ma! Dinosaur peels!”) (Aside: Man, I was a weird kid.) (Were they particularly smelly, dinosaurs? Stink-ed? Was that why they all disappeared?)Ī life-sized Stegosaurus model in the Third Planet exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum by Evan Howard (2016) CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons I vaguely remember learning about extinction as a kid, because…DINOSAURS. However, the stuffed passenger pigeon is unique among its preserved fellow specimens of North American birds: Its species is extinct. Since last passenger pigeon died in captivity in 1914, I know at least *one* of the birds is over 100 years old, not sure about the others. The birds are a bit dusty and faded, the passenger pigeon itself has bluish gray feathers with pinkish breast, a shape familiar from the mourning doves and urban pigeons we see around town. A plaque, “Gift of So and So, 1985,” discreetly emblazons a corner of the case. Well, technically it is a stuffed passenger pigeon, preserved in a glass case with other taxidermied bird specimens, in one of our classroom spaces. John (2011) CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Ectopistes migratorius (Linnaeus, 1766) – passenger pigeon (extinct) (mount, public display, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Ilinois, USA).
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