灭绝动物和新物种.pptVIP

Enter the time tunnel;Extinct animal;Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)How do you go from being the most common bird species in North America to being nothing more than a sad footnote in American history?Well, it helps if you taste good.While passenger pigeons were hunted as a crop nuisance for years, it wasnt until pigeon meat got popular that things took a turn for the worst. It also sure didnt help that westward-bound settlers were chopping down the birds habitat at an alarming pace.Over less than 100 years, the species that once blackened the sky as it roamed in flocks numbering in the billions was suddenly in a lot of trouble.The last passenger pigeon died in a Cincinnati zoo in 1914. Her name was Martha. ;;the Golden Toad The first record of the Golden Toad was by herpetologist Jay Savage in 1966. The toad, recognized by its brilliant golden orange color, was native to the tropical cloud forests which surround Monteverde, Costa Rica. None have been seen since 1989. It last bred in normal numbers in 1987, and its breeding sites were well known. In 1987, due to erratic weather, the pools dried up before the larva had matured. Out of potential 30,000 toads, only 29 had survived. In 1988, only eight males and two females could be located. In 1989, a single male was found, this was the last record of the species. Extensive searches since this time have failed to produce any more records of the golden toad.;Tasmanian Tiger The thylacine looked like something of a cross between a tiger (due to its stripes) and a dog (in terms of its build). However, it was in fact a carnivorous marsupial, complete with pouch. Native to Australia, the thylacine was last seen on that mainland over 2,000 years ago. The tiger was hunted to extinction by the indigenous population, but had a safe haven of sorts in the island of Tasmania ... or at least it did until Europeans showed up. Their heavy-handed hunting, prompted in part by farmers protection of their livestock,