The Importance of Biodiversity Biodiversity: the variety of life in a particular ecosystem Species Richness: the number of species in an area

Extinction The end of an organism The moment of extinction refers to the death of the last individual of a species, even if the capacity to breed has been lost before this time

10. Tyrannosaurus Rex Extinct ~65 million years ago Bipedal carnivore Fossils have been found in North American rock formations Probable C.O.E.:  Starvation

9. Quagga: ½ Zebra, ½ Horse Last Quagga died on Aug 12, 1883 at the Artis Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam A subspecies of the African Zebra Was the first extinct animal to have its DNA studied Probable COE:  Hunting

8. Thylacine: Tasmanian Tiger Native to Austrailia Extinct since 1936 The largest known carnivorous marsupial in modern times. Probable COE:(Still spotted)  Hunting, disease, competition

7. Sea Cow ~ 8 meters long and weighed 3 tonnes Toothless with two flat white bones Fossil record indicate that around 1770 Sea Cow numbers decreased as human populace increased around the Bering Sea Probable COE:  Hunting

7. Sea Cow

6. Irish Deer aka Giant Deer Largest Deer in Earth's history Carbon dating reveals this animal became extinct years ago 7 feet to the shoulders 12 foot Antler span Probable COE:  maladaptation

5. Caspian Tiger/Persian Tiger Was located in Iran, Iraq, Afganistan, Turkey, Mongolia and Kazakhstan Recently extinct (1970) Probable COE:  Destruction of Habitat

4. The Golden Toad Discovered in 1966 Native to Costa Rica Last seen in 1989 Colouration due to sexual selection Assumed extinct, but the search continues Probable COE:  Destruction of habitat  Erratic weather  Invasive species

3. Passenger Pigeon 200 years ago, P. Pigeons were the most common bird in North America Brutally exploited The last Passenger Pigeon died alone at the Cincinnati Zoo at 1 pm, Sept 1st, 1914 Probable COE:  Pigeon meat was cheap to buy  Loss of habitat

2. Woolly Mammoth Probably lived in North America and Eurasia Died off around 8000 BCE Height: 9.2 feet Weight: 8 tonnes Probable COE:  Climate change

1. Dodo Flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius. Related to doves & pigeons 1 meter tall, 44 lbs Nested on the ground Probable COE:  Hunting  Invasive species