1. The phrase “dead as
the dodo” was first recorded in 1904, though the dodo went extinct in the
1660s.
2. “Extinct as the
dodo,” dates back to 1870; “dead as a doornail” was used earlier.
3. There have been five
known mass extinctions on Earth, each of which killed off at least half the
species alive at the time.
4. The
Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction around 65 million years ago killed off the
dinosaurs. Click here to read more
5. The woolly mammoth,
giant kangaroo and giant sloth died out between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago.
6. The Glyptodon, an
armadillo the size of a car, also became extinct about 10,000 years ago.
7. In 1883 the quagga
became extinct. In 1984, it became the first extinct animal to have its DNA
sequenced.
8. The Californian state
flag features the last known captive Californian grizzly bear. The bear, named
Monarch, died in 1911. The species became extinct in 1924.
9. The last passenger
pigeon died in 1914. She was named Martha, after George Washington’s wife.
10. The World Wildlife
Fund estimates that 10,000 species or sub-species go extinct every year.
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