By John Roach, contributor
Introduction
This month scientists reported that the Caribbean monk seal has joined a long and growing list of species that carry the \"extinct\" label. The seals were first sighted during Christopher Columbus' second voyage in 1494 and once numbered in excess of 250,000. But the docile creatures proved easy prey and were killed primarily for their blubber. The last confirmed sighting was in 1952. After several decades of searching, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finally confirmed the extinction. The seal joins millions of species that have come and gone over Earth’s 4.5 billion-year history – including the dinosaurs, which vanished about 65 million years ago. Click on the \"Next\" arrow above to learn about seven other extinct species that have made headlines in recent years.
It's official: Caribbean monk seal is extinct ";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","The dodo: Poster child for extinction","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051223/051223_dodo_hmed3p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Naturalis Museum", "AP", "247", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
The dodo: Poster child for extinction
The dodo is perhaps the best-known example of a species driven to extinction by human activity. Their numbers dwindled quickly after the arrival of Portuguese and Dutch sailors to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in the 1500s. Some of the flightless birds were hunted by humans, though competition with dogs, pigs and other animals introduced by settlers may have been the true cause of extinction, some scientists say. The last recorded sighting of a live bird was in 1663. Despite the bird's immortalization in the phrase \"to go the way of the dodo,\" however, scientists have an imperfect image of its physique. A cache of dodo bones, reported found in 2005 and shown here, should help scientists paint a better picture.
Scientists discover huge cache of dodo bones ";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","Saber-toothed cat had a bad bite","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/071001/071001_saber1_hmed_3p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "John Conway", "", "238", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
Saber-toothed cat had a bad bite
The saber-toothed cat pictured in this artist's rendering was a fearsome predator of Ice Age giants on the grasslands of North and South America until about 10,000 years ago. To eat, the cat used its powerful body to wrestle large prey such as bison and mammoths to the ground. Only then did the iconic sabers come into play with a relatively wimpy chomp at the throat, according to research reported in October 2007. The hunting strategy likely proved less effective once the large prey disappeared and meals were limited to the quicker gazelles and antelopes. When the lumbering mega-fauna vanished, so did the cat.
Saber-toothed cat had a kittenish bite";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","Giant rodent too big for its own good?","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080616/080616-giantRodent-hmed-4p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Carin L. Cain / Science", "", "273", "410", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
Giant rodent too big for its own good?
Eek! About 8 million years ago, the 1,545-pound rodent in this artist's rendering roamed the swampy grasslands of Venezuela, scientists reported in September 2003. The buffalo-sized creature, named Phoberomys pattersoni, had continuously growing teeth suited for gnawing on abrasive grasses in the brackish water. Its rear legs were much larger and more powerful than its smaller forelimbs – much like its modern-day relative, the guinea pig. Unlike small rodents, however, experts say this giant was probably too big to burrow and escape predators such as crocodiles, which may have contributed to its demise.
Ancient rodent the size of a buffalo ";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","Vanished cousin to elephants and manatees","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080414/080414-science-Moeritherium-253.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Luci Betti-Nash", "Stony Brook University", "251", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
Vanished cousin to elephants and manatees
Modern elephants are giant landlubbers, well-known for tromping across African savannahs and through Asian forests. But scientists now know they are related to aquatic creatures such as manatees and dugongs. Where's the link? Research focusing on the teeth enamel of an ancient elephant ancestor called a moeritherium, pictured here, suggests that the creatures ate a diet of plants found in rivers and swamps about 37 million years ago. Scientists speculate the 500- to 700-pound creature had a lifestyle similar to a hippo.
Ancient elephants loved water ";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","They dined on dinosaurs","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050112/050112_superdog_vmed_10a.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Xiaoping Xu", "Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology", "273", "199", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
They dined on dinosaurs
As shown in this artist's rendering, not all mammals were afraid of the dinosaurs. In 2005, Chinese scientists reported the discovery a 130 million-year-old, opossum-sized mammal with the remains of a young dinosaur in its belly. Nearby, the scientists found a 3-foot long mammal that probably weighed more than 30 pounds, putting it in a class of its own as a formidable dinosaur predator. Why these early mammals went extinct remains a mystery.
Early mammal dined on dinosaurs";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","Mammals may have flown before birds","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061213/061213_livesci_gliding_vlg11a.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "Chuang Zhao and Lida Xing", "273", "208", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
Mammals may have flown before birds
Long before birds and planes took to the skies, the flying squirrel-like mammal in this picture was likely gliding from tree to tree, according to research reported in 2006. Scientists who discovered the 130 million-year-old fossils in China identified the creature as a mammal based on its teeth and a flap of hairy body skin that mammals use today for gliding. Though similar to a flying squirrel, scientists said Volaticotherium antiquus is not a direct ancestor of modern flying mammals. Instead, they noted, it belongs to a now-extinct lineage of mammals.
Mammals might have soared before birds ";
EXTINCTspecies_science[i++] = new Array("","Giant scorpion: Bait for bigger fish","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071120/071120_ancientseascorpion_vmed_6p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "University of Bristol", "AP", "273", "163", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
EXTINCTspecies_science[i-1].body = "
Giant scorpion: Bait for bigger fish
There are big bugs, and then there are giant bugs. The sea scorpion known as Jaekelopterus rhenaniae in this image was clearly the latter. Based on the discovery of an 18-inch-long claw reported in 2007, scientists estimate the scorpion was 8 feet long. Good thing it lived some 360 million years ago. The elevated levels of oxygen then may have allowed the extinct ancestor of modern scorpions – and perhaps all arachnids – to reach such mammoth size. Experts believe these sea scorpions were eventually wiped out by big, toothy fish.
Scientists find fossil of super-sized bug ";
// END editorial data