EXTINCT!ydrodamalis gigasHOME

KingdomAnimaliaHunt on the Steller's sea cow.Unknown copyright licence.

PhylumChordata

ClassMammalia

OrderSirenia

FamilyDugongidae

GenusHydrodamalis

SpeciesHydrodamalis gigas

Authority(Zimmermann, 1780)

English NameSteller's Sea Cow

Danish NameStellers Sko

Dutch NameSteller-zeekoe

French NameRhytine de Steller

German NameStellersche Seekuh, Riesenseekuh, Borkentier

Norwegian NameStellers Sjku

Polish NameKrowa Morska

Portuguese NameDugongo de Steller

Spanish NameVaca Marina de Steller

Swedish NameStellers Sjko

SynonymsManati gigasZimmermann 1780;Manati balaenurusBoddaert 1785;Trichechus manatus var. borealisGmelin, 1788;Hydrodamalis stelleriRetzius 1794;Sirene borealisLink, 1794;Manatus borealisLink, 1795;Trichechus borealisShaw, 1800;Rytina manatus borealisIlliger, 1811;Nepus stelleriG. Fischer, 1814;Rytina borealisIlliger, 1815;Rytina cetaceaIlliger, 1815;Rytina stelleriDesmarest, 1819;Stellerus borealisDesmarest, 1822;Haligyna borealisBillberg, 1827;Rytina borealisF. Cuvier, 1836;Rhytine stelleriBurmeister, 1837;Rytina gigasGray, 1850;Manatus gigasLucas, 1891;Hydrodamalis gigasPalmer, 1895.

TaxonomyA cladistic analysis of theSirenia(Domning, 1994) has shown thatHydrodamalisfalls within the familyDugongidae. The generaDusisirenandHydrodamalisform the sub-familyHydrodamalinae. Domning (1976; 1978; 1994) has commented on the relatively good fossil record of the hydrodamalines and its documentation of the transition from a more traditional sirenian ancestor to the highly specializedHydrodamalis. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)

CharacteristicsSteller's Sea Cows were the largest and the only cold-water members of the scientific order 'Sirenia' to which manatees and dugongs also belong. These sea cows could reach a length of about 7,9 meters (25,9 feet). Published mass estimates range from 5400 to 11196 kilograms. With a heavy bone structure, they had huge midsections, a disproportionately small head, and a large, flat, twin-lobed tail. In the rough sea it was protected from rocks and ice floes by its 3-cm (1-inch) thick bark-like black skin (see left picture) and a 20-cm (4-9 inches) thick fat layer. Their external ear openings were only about the size of a pea, but the internal ear bones were very large, so excellent hearing can be assumed, although when they were feeding, would completely ignore even a boat. The Steller's sea cow was almost mute, making only deep breathing sounds when coming up for air and loud moaning sounds when wounded(Forsten & Youngman 1982).

LifestyleThe Steller's Sea Cow was gregarious, and herds appear to have included juveniles, males and females. Juveniles were kept toward the middle of the herd, and Steller (1751) describes herd members attempting to come to the aid of captured individuals. Steller's Sea Cows appears to have been monogamous, and Steller's account of the animal's behaviour suggests the pair bond was quite strong. Individuals spent the majority of their time feeding or resting, and Steller (1751) notes that the head could be kept submerged for 4-5 minutes at a time. Several first-hand observers comment on the apparent fearlessness of this large sea cow. According to Steller (1751), boats could be easily rowed into a herd and humans could wade among individuals near shore with little or no reaction. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)

Range & HabitatThey inhabited the shallow cold marine watersrich in algae and sea grassnear the shore around Bering Island and Medney Island (Copper Island). These two islands are, together with two small islets, part of the Komandorski Islands (Commander Islands),a group of treeless islands east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, in the Bering Sea. (Forsten & Youngman 1982)Image: range map of the Steller's sea cow. The red dot shows the position of the Komandorski Islands.Created by Peter Maas for The Extinction Website. This image has been released under theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.Fossil evidence indicates that the past distribution of the Steller's Sea Cow was much wider, including the coasts of Japan and North America. A fossil ancestor of the Steller's Sea Cow was theDugong Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis cuestae). Fossil remains of this prehistoric sea cow are known from as far south as the southern coast of California.Steller (1751) notes that individuals or herds were often found near the mouths of stream or rivers, which suggests they could not tolerate drinking marine water. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)

FoodSteller's Sea Cows consumed sea algae lying near the surface, sea grasses, but primarily soft kelp. Since lacking teeth, it ground its food by its deeply grooved keratinous plates in the mandibles. Seasonal food availability may have been a problem for the Bering Sea population, as Steller described individuals losing enough weight during the winter months to cause their ribs and vertebrae to be visible under the skin.Steller notes that individuals or herds were often found near the mouths of freshwater streams or rivers, which suggests they could not tolerate drinking marine water.

ReproductionFew details are known of the mating system of the Steller's Sea Cow. Steller describes them, as monogamous and mating activities appear to have been concentrated in the early spring. Steller's account of the animal's behaviour suggests the pair bond was quite strong. Offspring were observed to be born at anytime of the year, but most births took place in early autumn. Females produced only one calf per breeding attempt. Steller inferred the length of gestation to be over one year.

History & PopulationThe ancestor to Steller's Sea Cow was possibly an extinct Dugongidae sea cow,Dusisiren jordani, previously namedMetaxytherium jordani.Dusisirenwas common in the shallow coastal waters of late Miocene California 10-12 million years ago. Although Sirenian evolution is not fully understood, there is a very clear and compelling fossil record leading up to Steller's sea cow (Domning 1987).Mitochondrial DNA research suggest that the sea cow-dugong divergence was likely as ancient as the dugong-manatee split (30 million years ago). The sea cow-dugong divergence appears to have been much earlier, namely 22 million years ago, than the previously estimated 48 million years ago. (Ozowa et al. 1997)Hydrodamalis cuestaehad evolved by late Miocene time, around 5 million years ago (Dykens & Gillette 2006). This fossil species is considered to be ancestral to the Steller's sea cow (Demr 2006).The crew of Vitus Bering's ship 'St. Peter, shipwrecked off the coast of Kamchatka in early November 1741. One of them was Georg Wilhelm Steller, the naturalist and physician on Bering's expedition. During the months that Steller and the other survivors of Bering's crew spent on what would later be named Bering Island. They discovered there the Steller's sea cow,Hydrodamalis gigas. The presence of Steller's sea cow off Bering Island was only as an evolutionary relict, a small population confined to a very restricted area of cold waters near the Kamchatkan peninsula (Dykens & Gillette 2006). Steller was able to gather considerable information on the habits of the Stelller's Sea Cow as well as an extensive set of measurements of various parts of the sea cow's anatomy. Bering's crew could escape in August 1742, after building a new boat from the wreckage of the 'St. Peter'. Steller published his observations in 1751. Another extinct species, which was discovered by Georg Wilhelm Steller at Bering Island, was theSpectacled Cormorant (Phalacrocorax perspicillatus).The meat of these sea cows, which most often referred to as being similar to veal and remained fresh for much longer than any other available meat source in that time. The fat was described as tasting like sweet almond-oil. Bering's crew only killed their first Steller's Sea Cow 6 weeks before their escape in August 1742. The meat was crucial in restoring their strength during the final stages of building their new boat. Based on the information from Steller's observations, the crew of other ships arriving there unscrupulously slaughtered the sea cows for their meat and fat. Also fur hunters flocked to the area. Only one out of five Steller's Sea Cows hit by harpoon or rifle fire was retrieved, but the majority escaped only to die at sea from their injuries.Off Copper Island, where the population was initially low, there were no animals left by 1754 .In 1768, explorer Martin Sauer entered in his journal an account of the death of the last known Steller's Sea Cow off Bering Island. So only 27 years after Steller first saw these sea cows, the Steller's Sea Cow became extinct.(Forsten & Youngman 1982)

Extinction CausesThe Stellers Sea Cow was hunted primarily as a source of food. Steller (1751) describes the meat as being easily prepared and similar to beef in taste and texture. The blubber was useful for cooking and was also a source of lamp oil. The milk of harvested cows was consumed directly or made into butter. The thick, tough hide was used for shoes, belts and to make skin-covered boats. No sustained yield practices were used, and the low reproductive rate of the population, combined with its probable existence in a sub-optimal environment likely hastened the species' decline. Anderson (1995) has also noted that the intense hunting of sea otters on the Bering Sea islands may have contributed to the final extinction of the Steller's Sea Cow. It is known that sea urchin populations can severely deplete sea grass and algae communities when otters are removed, and as this happened on the Bering Sea islands, the sea cows would have faced a new competitor for food. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)

Conservation AttemptsYakolev, a first-hand observer of the Steller's Sea Cow, claims that an order was given to the headquarters of the outpost on the Komandorskiye Islands on 27 November 1755, prohibiting hunting of the sea cows (translated in Domning, 1978).

Museum SpecimensPhoto: a reconstructed skull of the Steller's sea cow in the Rosensteinmuseum in Stuttgart, Germany. Courtesy by Sordes. Copyright, all rights reserved.Today, the sea cow seems an almost imaginary creature, but Steller's descriptions and a few intact skeletons, skulls and pieces of skin, preserved in museums, prove that this amazing animal lived in the Bering Sea just over 200 years ago.Specimens can be found in theRoyal Museum(Edinburgh, United Kingdom),Natural History Museum(London, United Kingdom),The Manchester Museum(Manchester, United Kingdom),Naturkundemuseum(Braunschweig, Germany),Schausammlung(Darmstadt, Germany),Staatliches Museum fr Tierkunde(Dresden, Germany),Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum(Hildesheim, Germany), Niederschsisches Landesmuseum (Hanover, Germany),Naturhistoriska Museum(Gtenborg, Sweden),Zoologiska museet(Lund, Sweden),Naturhistoriska Riksmuseum(Stockholm, Sweden),Museum of Natural History(Helsinki, Finland),Musum National d'Histoire Naturelle(Lyon, France),Muse National d'Histoire Naturelle(Paris, France),Naturhistorisches Museum(Vienna, Austria),Museum of Zoology(Krakow, Poland),Hungarian Natural History Museum(Budapest, Hungary),Oceanographic Museum(Monaco-Ville, Monaco),Naturkundemuseum(Basle, Switzerland),Nature Museum(Kharkiv, Ukraine),Museum of Paleontology(Kiev, Ukraine), Museum of Zoology (Kiev, Ukraine),Zoological Museum(Lviv, Ukraine),Zoological Museum(Odessa, Ukraine),Museum Ekaterinburg(Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation),Museum Of Regional Studies(Irkutsk, Russian Federation),Regional Lore Museum(Khabarovsk, Russian Federation),Zoological Museum(Moscow, Russian Federation),Paleontological Institute(Moscow, Russian Federation),Biological Timiryazev Museum(Moscow, Russian Federation),State Darwin Museum(Moscow, Russian Federation),Museum of Local Lore(Nikolskoye, Bering Island, Russian Federation),Museum of Kamchatka Local Lore(Petropawlowsk, Kamchatka, Russian Federation),Zoological Institute of Academy of Sciences(St. Petersburg, Russian Federation),Oceanarium(Wladiwostok, Russian Federation),Primorsky Museum of Local Lore(Wladiwostok, Russian Federation), Zoological Museum of the Far Eastern State University (Wladiwostok, Russian Federation), Numata Fossil Laboratory (Numata-cho, Hokkaido, Japan),Redpath Museum(Montreal, Quebec, Canada),National Museum of Natural Sciences(Ottawa, Canada), Australian Museum (Sydney, Australia),Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History(Washington DC, USA),Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture(Seattle, Washington, USA),Museum of Comparative Zoology(Cambridge, Massachusets, USA),Museum of Paleontology(Berkeley, California, USA), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (Berkeley, California, USA)

RelativesThe closest living relatives of the Steller's sea cow is the dugong (Dugong dugon) followed by the three manatee species; the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), and the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). Other living relatives are the Hyrax species; the Southern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus), the Western tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis), the yellow-spotted rock hyrax (Heterohyrax bruceii), and the Cape hyrax (Procavia capensis). More distant relatives are the three elephant species; the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), the African Savannah Elephant (Loxodonta africana), and the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). (Ozowa et al. 1997)Image: a maximum parsimony tree showing the relatedness of the superorder ofPaenungulata, consisting of the orders of Proboscidae (elephants), Sirenia (sea cows and manatees) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes). Based on Ozowa et al.Created by Peter Maas for The Extinction Website. This image has been released under theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.Sadly, some of the closest relatives of the Steller's sea cow, like the dugong (Dugong dugon), are endangered today. These species' populations are declining as a result of pollution, deaths caused by the propellers of outboard boat motors, and habitat loss caused by human development.

Great Auk Caribbean Monk Seal Japanese Sea Lion Labrador Duck Tasman Booby Yangtze River Dolphin Pallas's Cormorant Guadalupe Storm-petrel Small St Helena Petrel Eelgrass limpet New Zealand grayling Large St Helena PetrelEelgrass limpetFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaEelgrass limpet

Conservation status

Extinct(IUCN 2.3)[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Mollusca

Class:Gastropoda

(unranked):cladePatellogastropoda

Superfamily:Lottioidea

Family:Lottiidae

Genus:Lottia

Species:L. alveus

Binomial name

Lottia alveus(Conrad, 1831)

Theeelgrasslimpet, also known as the bowl limpet,scientific nameLottia alveus, was aspeciesof seasnailor smalllimpet, amarinegastropodmolluskin the familyLottiidae, theLottialimpets, agenusof true limpets. This species lived in the westernAtlantic Ocean.The eelgrass limpet now appears to be totallyextinct, but up until the late 1920s, this species was apparently quite common, and was easy to find at low tide ineelgrassbeds, in many sheltered localities on the northeastern seaboard ofNorth America.Contents[hide] 1Distribution before extinction 2Habitat 3Cause of extinction 4References 5External links

[edit]Distribution before extinctionThis limpet was found fromLabrador,Canada, as far south asNew York.It supposedly went extinct 60 years before its extinction was noticed (Fall, 2005)[edit]HabitatThis small limpet used to live on the blades ofZosteramarina, a species ofseagrass.[edit]Cause of extinctionThe extinction does not seem to have been caused directly by human interference. This small limpet disappeared from thefaunabecause of a sudden catastrophic collapse of the populations of the eelgrass plant, which was its sole habitat and food source. In the early 1930s, the seagrass beds all along that part of the coastline were decimated by "WastingDisease", which was caused by aslime mold.Some colonies of the seagrassZostera marinalived inbrackish water, and these areas served asrefugiafor the eelgrass since the Wasting Disease did not spread to brackish water. The eelgrass was thus able to survive the catastrophic impact of the disease. The limpet however was unable to tolerate anything but normal salinity seawater, and therefore it did not live through the crisis.Monachus tropicalisHOME

KingdomAnimaliaCaptive Caribbean monk seal of unknown sex at the New York Aquarium in ca. 1910. Specimen originally captured from either Arrecifes Triangulos (Campeche) or Arrecife Alacran (Yucatan) in Mexico (Townsend 1909).New York Zoological Society, 1910.Unknown copyright licence.

Plate 19, showing the West Indian Seal (Monachus tropicalis). From "The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States", by George Brown Goode (1887).This image is in thepublic domainbecause its copyright has expired.This applies to the European Union, Canada, the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

PhylumChordata

ClassMammalia

OrderCarnivora

FamilyPhocidae

GenusMonachus

SpeciesMonachus tropicalis

Authority(Gray, 1850)

TEWStatusExtinct (EX), Year assessed: 2010

IUCNStatusExtinct (EX), Year assessed: 2008

English NameCaribbean Monk Seal,West Indian Seal

Chinese Name

Dutch NameCaribische Monniksrob

Finnish NameFloridanmunkkihylje

French NamePhoque Moine des Carabes

German NameKaribische Mnchsrobbe

Hungarian NameKaribi Bartfka

Italian NameFoca Monaca dei Caraibi

Japanese Name

Korean Name

Polish NameMniszka Antylska

Portuguese NameFoca Monge das Carabas

Russian Name -

Spanish NameFoca Fraile del Caribe

Swedish NameVstindisk Munksl

SynonymsPhoca tropicalisGray, 1850

TaxonomyThe Caribbean monk seal is monotypic (has no subspecies). According to Kenyon and Rice (1959) might theHawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) be a subspecies of the Caribbean monk seal. (Adam 2004)

CharacteristicsMales are thought to have reached a length of 2,1 to 2,4 metres and weighed up to 200 kilograms. Displaying sexual dimorphism, the females of this species were generally smaller than males. This species has rolls of fat around its neck. The backs of adult seals were brown with a grey tinge. The underside was pale yellow, as was the muzzle. The soles and palms were naked, with the nails on the anterior digits well developed. The fur of newborns was long and dark. Evidence suggests that the pups were weighing between 16 and 18 kg, and measuring up to 1m in length. (Wikipedia contributors 2006)

LifestyleThe Caribbean monk seal was spending much of their time in the water, and occupying rocky and sandy coastlines for shelter and breeding (Wikipedia contributors 2006). This monk seal did not appear to fear distant humans or boats, but entered water after being closely approached by men (0.9-1.8- m distance) or boats (Adam 2004).

Range & HabitatThe Caribbean monk seal once inhabited the Caribbean Sea, northwest to the Gulf of Mexico, as well as from the Bahamas to the Yucatan Peninsula, south along the Central American coast and east to the northern Antilles. Extralimital records and fossil remains from the southeastern United States also exist. These pinnipeds lived in marine environment.Image: historic range (red) map of the Caribbean monk seal.Created by Peter Maas for The Extinction Website. This image has been released under theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.

FoodTheir diet included eels, lobsters, octopus, and other reef fish. (Wikipedia contributors 2006) Captive Caribbean monk seals were fed fish cut into small pieces and crabs. (Adam 2004)

ReproductionVery little is known about the reproduction behaviour and longevity of this animal. All monk seals rest and give birth on sandy coasts, on remote islands or undisturbed beaches of the mainland. Pups were likely born in early December because several females killed in the Yucatan during this time of the year had well-developed foetuses. It is believed that this animal's average lifespan was approximately 20 years. (Wikipedia contributors, 2006)

History & PopulationEvidence now suggests that the pinnipeds first appeared in the north-eastern Pacific, along the coast of present-day California, some 23 million years ago. Initially, they radiated throughout the North Pacific, eventually entering the Atlantic Ocean via the Central American Seaway, an ancient waterway that once separated North and South America. (Lavigne & Johnson, 2001)There remains a great deal of conflicting thought on the evolution of the monk seal. Gilmartin and Forcada (2002) offer the hypothesize that the species originated in the North Atlantic during the middle Miocene epoch, 15 million years ago with the Hawaiian monk seal (M. schauinslandi) likely descending from the extinct Caribbean monk seal (M. tropicalis),with the Mediterrean monk seal(M. monachus) the basal taxon. (Overgard, 2003)However, Berta and Sumich (1999) offer another hypothesis that concurs with molecular studies done by Arnason et al. (1995). It identifiesM. schauinslandias the sister taxon, or closest relative, to the other monk seals implying the converse of the previous idea and suggesting thatM. tropicalisdescended fromM. schauinslandi or thatM. tropicalisandM. monachusevolved concurrently. Molecular sequencing data supports this theory, butMonachusdata is limited to the Hawaiian species and therefore leaves unanswered questions. (Overgard, 2003)Evolutionists tend to disagree on the 'natural history' of seals, sea lions and walruses, but based on the primitive and unspecialised skeletal and vascular anatomy of monk seals, agree that the 'earliest' fossil records, supposedly 20 million years old, reveal seals that look very much like monk seals alive today. So much so that monk seals are often referred to as 'living fossils' because 'they have remained virtually unchanged for 15 million years'.The Caribbean monk seal was the first New World mammal to be discovered by Columbus and his company on the coast of Santo Domingo in 1494. It appears in the account of Columbus' second voyage to America. Columbus promptly ordered his crew to kill eight of the animals, which he called "sea-wolves", for food, paving the way for exploitation of the species by European immigrants who came in his wake. Since then, the once abundant seals have been hunted for their oil and slaughtered by fishermen, who regarded the animals as competitors.H. Sloan wrote in 1707: "The Bahama Islands are filled with seals; sometimes fishers will catch one hundred in a night". The Caribbean monk seal was documented as being easily approachable and not aggressive. They were easily killed during directed hunts in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is also known that sailors, whalers, and fishers opportunistically killed the seals they encountered. As well, Caribbean monk seals were killed by museum collectors and displayed in zoos. The end of the 19th century witnessed relentless slaughters and the species had already become rare in the 1880's, before it was properly known to science. The Triangle Keys have remained a stronghold of the species until 1915, when about 200 animals were butchered there. (Van den Hoek Ostende, 1999)The last confirmed sighting in 1952 was of a small colony on Seranilla Bank, a group of tiny coral islands halfway between Jamaica and Honduras (Van den Hoek Ostende, 1999). An aerial survey in 1973, conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, found extensive fishing activity throughout the former range of this seal. A later cruise through the Gulf of Mexico and around the Yucatan Peninsula failed to find any Caribbean monk seals in the area. Surveys have been carried out as late as 1993, all without success. The Caribbean monk seal was formally declared extinct in the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.Based on interviews with 93 fishermen in northern Haiti and Jamaica during 1997 Boyd and Stanfield (1998) made an assessment of the likelihood that monk seals survive in this region of the West Indies. Those fishermen that were able to provide further descriptions gave information about size and colour that was consistent with many of these seals being monk seals. They concluded that it is possible that the Caribbean monk seal is not extinct. (Boyd & Stanfield, 1998)Local fishermen and divers regularly claim to have seen the seal, making the existence of this animal still a possibility, though some biologists believe that these sightings may surely be of wandering hooded seals, which have been positively been identified in islands such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It appears that the hooded seals are increasingly straying far into new territories, even those a long distance away from their home in the far north, and are visiting the tropical beaches previously enjoyed by the sadly demised Caribbean monk seal. (Mignucci-Giannoni & Haddow, 2001; Wikipedia contributors, 2006)

Extinction CausesAll monk seal species appear to be sensitive to disturbance, and early habitat exclusion by humans throughout their range may have exacerbated their decline. Like other true seals, the Caribbean Monk Seal was sluggish on land. This, along with its lack of fear for man, and an unaggressive and curious behaviour, likely contributed to its demise. (Wikipedia contributors, 2006)

Conservation AttemptsThe Jamaican Wild Life Law offered the first legal protection to the Caribbean monk seal. Nonetheless, occasional individuals subsequently straying onto Jamaican shores were nearly always slaughtered. In 1949, he International Conference of the Protection of Nature (United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources) included the Caribbean monk seal in a list of 14 mammals whose survival was considered to be a matter of international concern and which required immediate protection. (Adam 2004)The Caribbean monk seal is since 1977 designated as Endangered in the Entire Range by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was first listed on March 11, 1967. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists this marine mammal as extinct.Within historic times, 18 Caribbean monk seals have been held in captivity on 8 separate occasions. None bred in captivity (Adam 2004).Nowadays none survive in captivity.

Museum SpecimensThere are several preserved remains of this species. The type specimen is in the collection of the British Museum. TheMuseum of Natural History Naturalisin Leiden, the Netherlands, has a mounted skin and its skull.The Leiden specimen was purchased in1887from the Amsterdam dealerG.A. Frank.This specimen wascollected byH.L. Ward, who visited theTriangle KeysinCampeche Bay,Mexico, on four days in December1886. Ward killed 49monk seals, of which 34 skins and seven skeletons were secured. This material constituted the first good series of scientific specimens. TheAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryinNew Yorkacquired three skins, and adult male and female and a pup. (Van den Hoek Ostende, 1999) The National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC has also remains (Adam 2004). A collection of Caribbean Monk Seal bones can be found at the Tropical Crane Point Hammock Museum in Key Vaca, Florida, U.S.A. (Wikipedia contributors, 2006).

Co-extinctionThe only parasite identified from the extinct Caribbean Monk Seal is the nasal miteHalarachne americana, recovered in great numbers and in all stages of its life cycle from the respiratory passages of a single captive specimen.H. americanais only known from the Caribbean Monk Seal, and after the extinction of the seal in 1952 this mite has become extinct too. (Adam 2004)

RelativesImage: Hawaiian monk seal and pup. This image is the work of an U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken during the course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in thepublic domain.Monk seals are pinnipeds, a group of marine carnivores that includes true seals, fur seals, sea lions and the walrus.In historical times only three species of monk seal existed, occurring far apart in tropical and subtropical waters: one species on either side of the North Atlantic and a third in the Hawaiian Archipelago in the tropical pacific. With the expansion of man to even the most faraway islands, the group seems doomed. The Mediterranean and Hawaiian species are rapidly declining in numbers and will follow the Caribbean monk seal, unless they will be better protected. The two other Monk Seal species are the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) and the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi).

Great Auk Caribbean Monk Seal Japanese Sea Lion Labrador Duck Tasman Booby Yangtze River Dolphin Pallas's Cormorant Guadalupe Storm-petrel Small St Helena Petrel Eelgrass limpet New Zealand grayling Large St Helena PetrelZalophus japonicusHOME

KingdomAnimaliaJapanese Sea Lion, stuffed specimen at Tennji Zoo, Osaka, Japan. Photographed by Nkensei in November 2006. This imagehas been released under theGNU Free Documentation License. Source:Wikimedia Commons.

PhylumChordata

ClassMammalia

OrderCarnivora

SuborderPinnipedia

FamilyOtariidae

SubfamilyOtariinae

GenusZalophus

SpeciesZalophus japonicus

Authority(Peters, 1866)

English NameJapanese Sea Lion, Japanese Sealion

Czech NameLachtan japonsk

Dutch NameJapanse Zeeleeuw

French NameOtarie du Japon, Otarie Japonaise

German NameJapanischer Seelwe

Italian NameLeone Marino Giapponese

Japanese Name

Korean Name

Polish NameUchatka Japoska

Portuguese NameLeo-marinho-do-Japo

Spanish NameLen Marino de Japn

Swedish NameJapanskt Sjlejon

SynonymsZalophuslobatusJentink, 1892;Zalophus californianus japonicus(Peters, 1866)

TaxonomyBefore 2003, the Japanese Sea Lion was classified asZalophus californianus japonicus.It was raised to species level following Wozencraft in Wilson and Reeder (2005): "Rice (1998), followed here, argued for the retention ofjaponicus,californianus, andwollenbaekias distinct species.Itoo (1985) concluded thatjaponicuswas distinct, and behavioural differences separatecalifornianusandwollenbaeki(Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1984). Itoo classified the Japanese Sea Lion as a separate species because the skulls of modern specimens were larger and wider in proportion than that of the California Sea Lion (Sakahira and Niimi 2007).The first report on a genetic analysis of the Japanese sea lion concluded: "the distinctly divergent cluster of Japanese sea lions reflected the morphological classification of these animals as a distinct species of the genusZalophus; however, proximity to the California sea lion cluster simultaneously implied conformation with the traditional classification of these animals as a subspecies ofZalophus californianus" (Sakahira and Niimi 2007). Molecular evidence supports treating the Galpagos sea lion, the Californian sea lion and the Japanese sea lion by the name of species Zalophus wollebaeki and Zalophus californianus and Zalophus japonicus, respectively (Wolf et al 2007).

CharacteristicsMale Japanese Sea Lions were dark grey and weighed up to 450 to 560 kg reaching lengths of 2.3 to 2.5 meters; these were larger than male California Sea Lions. Females were significantly smaller at 1.64 meters long with a lighter colour than the males.(Wikipedia contributors 2008)

Male Japanese Sea Lions were dark grey and weighed up to 450 to 560 kg reaching lengths of 2.3 to 2.5 meters; these were larger than male California Sea Lions. Females were significantly smaller at 1.64 meters long with a lighter colour than the males

Range & HabitatJapanese Sea Lionswere known from the northwest Pacific where itprimarily occurred in the Sea of Japan along the coastal areas of the Korean Peninsula, the coasts of the Japanese Archipelago, the Kuril islands, and southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. (Seal Specialist Group 1996;Wikipedia contributors 2008)The species was known to occupy marine waters and coastal areas. Rarely found more than 16 km out to sea and frequently hauling onto shore areas throughout the year, this species breeds mainly on flat, open, sandy beaches, and sometimes in rocky areas (Seal Specialist Group 1996).Image: map of the former distribution range of the Japanese Sea Lion (in red). Based on a map in Wolf et al. 2007.Created by Peter Maas for The Extinction Website. This image has been released under theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.

ReproductionThey usually bred on flat, open and sandy beaches but rarely in rocky areas (Wikipedia contributors 2008).

History & PopulationVery little is known about the history of the Japanese sea lion. The Japanese and California Sea Lions were estimated to have diverged 2.2 million years ago, in the late Pliocene Epoch (Sakahira and Niimi 2007).Many bones of Japanese Sea Lion have been excavated from shell middens in Jmon period (about 14,000 BCE to 400 BCE) in Japan (Niimi 1990;National Museum of Japanese History 2008) while an 18th century's Japanese encyclopedia,Wakan Sansai Zuedescribes that the meat was not tasty and they were only used to render oil for oil lamps (Terajima 1712). In 1866, the director of theBerlin natural history museum, Wilhelm Peters, described the Japanese Sea Lion as a separate species (Van den Hoek Ostende 1999).Harvest records from Japanese commercial fishermen in the early 1900s show that as many as 3,200 sea lions were harvested at the turn of the century and overhunting caused harvest numbers to fall drastically to 300 sea lions by 1915 and to few dozen sea lions by the 1930s. Commercial harvest of Japanese sea lions ended in the 1940s when the species became virtually extinct. In total, Japanese trawlers harvested as many as 16,500 sea lions, enough to cause their extinction.(Wikipedia contributors 2008)The last reliable report mentioned the presence in 1951 of 50-60 animals onLiancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korean, and Takeshima in Japanese), a small rocky island which came under Korean rule after World War II (Rice 1998;Van den Hoek Ostende 1999).Individual sightings reported in the 1960's and 1970's, including a possible juvenile captured in 1974 off the coast of Rebun Island, northern Hokkaido, cannot be confirmed as confusion with escaped California Sea Lion cannot be ruled out (Seal Specialist Group 1996).

Extinction CausesSea lions have been captured for the circus trade and have also been exploited for their skin and oil. Certain internal organs were also valuable in Oriental medicine and its whiskers were reportedly used as pipe cleaners. However, the main reason for the extinction of the Japanese Sea Lion is thought to be persecution by fishermen. (Seal Specialist Group 1996) Rumour has it that Korean soldiers usedsea lionsin shooting practices (Van den Hoek Ostende 1999).

Conservation AttemptsA former fisherman of the Oki Islands stated that they worked to protect the sea lion population to ensure perpetuity of the resource before WWII(Wikipedia contributors 2008).

ReintroductionThe Korean Environment Ministry has announced that South and North Korea, Russia and China will collaborate on bringing back the Japanese Sea Lion in the Sea of Japan. The ministry said "while the animals are close to extinction in South Korea and Japan, it is possible that there are some in Chinese and Russian waters". The four countries will conduct joint research by 2010. If they manage to find one in these countries, then the government will bring some to the Sea of Japan, but if not, it plans to bring some California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) from the United States. (Bae 2007)

Museum SpecimensSeveral mounted specimens can be found in Japan (Wikipedia contributors 2008). The National Museum of Natural History 'Naturalis' in Leiden, the Netherlands, has three mounted specimens, a skeleton and four skulls (Van den Hoek Ostende 1999). The British Museum is holding one skin and four skulls (Wikipedia contributors 2008).

RelativesThe genusZalophusincludes only includes only three species, including the extinct Japanese Sea Lion. The other two surviving species are the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) and the Galpagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki).California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) and the Galpagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki)Images: the left-hand image shows a California Sea Lion in Point Lobos State Reserve, Monterey, California, USA. Photograped by Tewy at 13 July 2006 (source:Wikimedia Commons). The right-hand image shows a Galpagos Sea Lion. Photographed by Marc Figueras at 21 September 2004, Galpagos Islands (source:Wikimedia Commons).Bothimages have beenreleased under theCreative Commons AttributionShareAlike2.5Licence.

Yangtze River-dolphinThe Yangtze river-dolphin of China, orbaijias it is called locally, was first described in scientific journals only 80 years ago.In 1979, baiji was classified as endangered.In August 2007, it was officially declared extinct.The Yangtze river-dolphin had a stocky body about one and a half metres long. It had tiny eyes, and reasonable eyesight. Its long, narrow slightly upturned beak was like that of other river-dolphins. It appeared to be a dark blue-grey on its back and greyish white on its stomach. It had a triangular dorsal fin, and its flippers were broad and rather rounded.Baiji were most active from early evening to early morning, but also hunted fish during the day. A very shy animal, it was difficult to approach, so sightings of it were very rare. They were apparently often alone or in groups of up to six, generally in places where streams join the main river, especially around shallow sand banks.Sometimes, when it was very quiet, the baiji's blow could be heard, sounding a little like a sneeze.In 1975, China declared the Baiji a 'National Treasure' and began conservation and protection of the mammal. This had little success because of heavy boat traffic, fishing, and industrial development, including the construction of the world's largest dam, the Three Gorges dam. A lake in Hubei province was made into a reserve, with the aim of moving the animals there to better protect them. However, it was too late, and no baiji were found despite an intense search.The Yangtze is one of the world's busiest rivers in the world's most populated country.Yangtze River Dolphin -Lipotes vexillifer

KingdomAnimaliaPhoto: The Baiji or Yangtze River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer).Photo copyright:baiji.org foundation, Steven Leatherwood.All right reserved.

Image: A paining of the Baiji or Yangtze River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer). Created by Alessio Marrucci for university work in 2006. This file is licensed under theCreative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unportedlicense.

PhylumChordata

ClassMammalia

OrderCetacea

SuborderOdontoceti

FamilyIniidae

GenusLipotes

SpeciesLipotes vexillifer

AuthorityMiller, 1918

TSEW StatusPossibly Extinct (PE), Year assessed: 2010

IUCN StatusCritically Endangered (CR), Year assessed: 2008

English NameBaiji, Yangtze River Dolphin, Changjiang Dolphin, Chinese Lake Dolphin, White Flag Dolphin, Whitefin Dolphin

Chinese Name

Croatian NameBaiji, Kineski Rijeni Dupin, Kineski Jezerski Dupin, Jangce Dupin

Dutch NameChinese Vlagdolfijn, Baiji

Finnish NameKiinanjokidelfiini

French NameBaiji, Dauphin de Chine, Dauphin Fluviatile de Chine, Dauphin du Chang Jiang, Dauphin du Yang Ts

German NameChinesischer Fludelphin, Chinesische Flussdelfin, Jangtse-Delfin, Baiji

Japanese Name

Lithuanian NameKinijos Eerinis Delfinas

Polish NameDelfin Chiski

Russian Name

Spanish NameBaiji, Delfn de China

Swedish NameBaiji, Asiatisk Floddelfin, Asiatisk Delfin, Kinadelfin, Vitflaggsdelfin, Yangtzedelfin

TaxonomyThis species was listed under the family Platanistidae in the 1996-2002 IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species. Some authors prefer to place it rather in the family Iniidae. (Reeves, Smith, Wang & Zhou 2005)

Comments/TriviaThe species has been listed as Critically Endangered since 1996, but in 2007 it was reassessed as Critically Endangered and flagged as Possibly Extinct. Further survey work is essential to confirm whether this species still exists or if it is indeed now extinct; for example, a reported sighting of the species in August 2007 required confirmation. Chinese media reported that a businessman in Tongling City in east Chinas Anhui Province filmed a big white animal with his digital camera on 19 August. Professor Wang Ding, a leading scientist at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences later confirmed that the footage could be showing the Baiji dolphin (WWF 2007), but he couldn't rule out the alternative possibility that it was a Yangtze Finless Porpoise,Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis(Turvey, 2008). The Sixth Extinction Website agrees with WWF and many scientists that this species is functionally extinct, but also that it is still too early to declare its extinction. (IUCN 2007; Smithet al.2007; WWF 2007)Video: A Reuters video on the August 2007 sighting of the Baiji with a part of the videotape made by a Chinese man. Hayley Platt reports. Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. (Reuters article on the Baiji sighting.)

CharacteristicsThe Baiji was a streamlined dolphin with a long narrow and slightly upturned beak-like snout and a flexible neck. They had a rounded melon, elliptical and oriented longitudinally blowhole, low triangular dorsal fin and broad, rounded flippers. The very small eyes, located high on their heads, were functional, but its sight was reduced. The flippers were rounded. They had 30-36 teeth per side of both the upper and lower jaws. This species had 30-36 teeth per side of both the upper and lower jaws. Its dorsal colour was pale blue-grey to grey, while ventrally they were white to ash-white.Image: Size comparison of a baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) to an average human. Created by Chris Huh on 7 March 2007. A full resolution version can be found atWikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has release it into thepublic domain. This applies worldwide.The bigger females ranged from 185 to 253 cm in length and weigh 64-167 kg, while males ranged from 141 to 216 cm in length and weigh 42-125 kg. The minimum estimate of this species' lifespan is 24 years, provided by the estimated year of age of one wild-caught baiji, based on dentition. (Nowak 1999; Zhou 2002; Culik 2003; Poor & Grigg 2003; Massicot 2006)

FoodThe Baiji preyed on fish of many sizes and various species, including both surface and bottom feeders (Chenet al. 1997). During short dives, they used their long beak-like snouts to probe for food in the muddy river bottom in the shallow water near sandbanks or close to the mouth of tributaries of the river. (Poor & Grigg 2003)

ReproductionLittle is known about the reproductive activities of baiji (Poor & Grigg 2003). Sperm density in males varied seasonally and ovulation was periodic in females. The mating season peaked in spring and in autumn. The Baiji's gestation period estimates range from 6 to 12 months. Every two year, the females gave birth to one 80 cm long calf (Nowak 1999), with a peak calving season appearing to be from February to April (Zhou 2002; Culik 2003). The calves were carried by their mothers close to the side of their bodies while swimming, diving and breathing at the surface. The nursing period is unknown. (Poor & Grigg 2003) The females reached sexual maturity at an age of 6 years and about 4 years in males (IWC 2000).

LifestyleNot much is known about the Baiji's behaviour, due to its cryptic habits. They were usually found in pairs, which aggregated to form larger social units of about 10 individuals. These river dolphins searched for fish during the day and spent most of their time in the vicinity of large eddies. They rested in areas of slow current at night. The baiji navigated in the turbid waters of the Yangtze River with echolocation. They communicated with other baiji using whistles and other acoustic signals.Click here to listen to the baiji whistle(From the baiji.org foundation website). (Nowak 1999; Poor & Grigg 2003)

Range & HabitatThe Baiji is endemic to the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) of China. During the great flood of 1955 some individuals were seen in the Fuchun River, but they disappeared after the construction of a hydropower station in 1957 (Zhou 2002). Historically this species also occurred in the Dongting and Poyang Lakes, both appended water bodies of the Yangtze (Zhouet al.1977, Chenet al.1980).Image: map of China. The former range of the Baiji in the Yangtze River in China is coloured red in the right-hand upper map. Created by 'Papayoung'. The original version of this image can be found atWikimedia Commons. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0license.

History & PopulationFossil records indicate that the dolphins may have migrated from the Pacific Ocean to the Yangtze River 20 million years ago. It is estimated that there were 5,000 Chinese River Dolphins when they were described in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) dictionary Erya, the oldest extant Chinese dictionary (Wikipedia contributors 2006a). The estimated population size before 1900 was 3000-5000 (Ellis 1993; Leatherwood & Genthe 1995). In the beginning of the 1980s there were still around 400 Baiji (Ellis 1993). On the basis of surveys conducted in 1985 and 1986, it was estimated that the total population was around 300 individuals (Chen and Hua 1989; Reeves et al. 2003). In 1993 their population consisted of about 150 - 240 animals (Ellis 1993) and in 1995 there were estimated to be fewer than 100 individuals (Leatherwood & Genthe 1995). An intensive survey in November 1997 produced a total count of only 13 dolphins (Wang 2000).QiQi, a baiji male who became the only baiji in captivity when he was rescued in 1980, died in his tank at the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology in 2002. (Macartney 2005; Baiji.org Foundation 2006ac)Later there were confirmed sightings are of two baiji (one large adult, one juvenile) in the Xin-Lou (Honghu) National Baiji Reserve in July 2004, and a large adult baiji in the Tongling Provincial Baiji Reserve in September 2004. (Baiji.org Foundation 2006abc)On 6 November 2006, the "Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition 2006" has been launched on Monday in the city of Wuhan in Central China. This 30-member search expedition, under the direction of the Institute for Hydrobiology Wuhan and the Swissbased baiji.org Foundation, made up of both Chinese and foreign researchers conducted a six-week survey of the river. The expedition has been led by the Ministry of Agriculture and brought together world-class experts from institutes such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute from San Diego and the Fisheries Research Agency in Japan. The scientists were travelling on two research vessels almost 3500 kilometers from Yichang nearby the Three Gorges Dam to Shanghai into the Yangtze Delta and back, using highperformance optical instruments and underwater microphones. On 13 December 2006, in the city of Wuhan in central China, the expedition drew to a finish without any results. They failed to spot even one of the dolphins. August Pfluger, head of Swissbased baiji.org Foundation and co-organizer of the expedition, said that it possible they may have missed one or two animals, but that we have to accept the fact that the baiji is functionally extinct. The species doesn't occur un sufficient numbers to breed and ward off extinction. (Baiji.org Foundation 2006bc; CNN.com 2006; The Hankyoreh Media Company 2006)Most people thought the Baiji had become extinct, however Chinese media reported that a businessman in Tongling City in east Chinas Anhui Province filmed a big white animal with his digital camera on 19 August 2007. Professor Wang Ding, a leading scientist at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences later confirmed that the footage could be showing the Baiji dolphin (WWF 2007), but he couldn't rule out the alternative possibility that it was a Yangtze Finless Porpoise,Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis(Turvey, 2008). (IUCN 2007; Smithet al.2007; WWF 2007)

Extinction CausesThe Baiji declined due to the following threats to the species: a period of hunting by humans during the Great Leap Forward, entanglement in fishing gear, the illegal practice of electric fishing, collisions with boats and ships, habitat loss, and pollution. (Reeveset al.2005; Wikipedia contributors 2006a)The Great Leap Forward () of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social plan to use China's vast population to rapidly transform mainland China from a primarily agrarian economy dominated by peasant farmers into a modern, industrialized communist society. The Great Leap Forward was initiated and led by Mao Zedong, and carried out by the Communist Party of China from 1958 to early 1962 (Wikipedia contributors 2006b). The Baiji's traditionally venerated status as "goddess of the river" was denounced and dolphins were hunted for their flesh and skin. A factory producing handbags and gloves from Baiji skin opened but the operation was short-lived because the animals quickly became scarce (Zhou and Zhang 1991; Reeveset al.2005).Entanglement in fishing gear was estimated in the 1970s80s to have been responsible for at least half of observed mortality (Linet al. 1985, Zhou and Li 1989, Chen 1989, Chenet al. 1997). It was prohibited to use both rolling hooks and fyke nets in the Yangtze River, but enforcement of these prohibitions proved to be very difficult. (Zhouet al. 1998; Zhou and Wang 1994; Reeveset al.2005)Electric fishing is "strictly banned" in the Yangtze (Zhouet al. 1998), but is widely practiced, particularly in the centre of the baiji's distribution (IWC 2001). By the early 2000s, electric fishing was considered "the most important and immediate direct threat to the Baiji's survival. (Zhanget al. 2003). The electric shocks kill Baiji outright (Chen and Hua 1989) and unselectively kill other aquatic organisms, including the baiji's prey. (Reeveset al.2005).As China developed economically, ship traffic multiplied and the size of the boats grew. Underwater noise pollution made the nearly blind animal prone to collisions with propellers. Propeller strikes have killed and injured baiji (Zhou and Zhang 1991, Chenet al. 1997; Wikipedia contributors 2006a)Water development has transformed the baiji's habitat by dredged riverbeds, concrete reinforcements and by interrupting their movements upstream of dams, eliminating their access to tributaries and appended lakes, and reducing fish productivity. The building of the Three Gorges Dam, completed in the early 2000s, further reduced the dolphin's habitat and facilitated an increase in ship traffic. Many parts of the Yangtze River have become much shallower because of siltation from deforestation and agricultural development. (Liuet al. 2000; Reeveset al.2005; Wikipedia contributors 2006a).Industrialization and the spread of modern agricultural practices have led to an increase of pollutant loads in the Yangtze River. (Reeveset al.2005)

Conservation AttempsThe baiji had been protected by custom in the past, since the Chinese considered it to be an incarnation of a drowned princess (Burton & Pearson 1987). In China this species was also nicknamed "Giant Panda of the Yangtze River" and "Goddess of the Yangtze" (), which may reflect the general affection for this dolphin species (Tan 1996).The Chinese Government began to protect the baiji in 1975 under National Law, and designated it a "National Treasure". Since then, catching or killing a baiji could result in heavy fines or even a long jail sentence. (Baiji.org Foundation 2006) Currently the Baiji is designated in the First Category of National Key Protected Wildlife Species and has full legal protection throughout its range (Reeves et al 2005).Since the late 1980s, the primary strategy to prevent the baiji's extinction has been to capture as many dolphins as possible and to introduce them into "semi-natural reserves". However, the expectation that sufficient numbers of Baiji could be caught and placed in the reserves to establish a viableex situpopulation has proven unrealistic. (Reeves et al 2005)Since 1992, the Chinese Government has set aside five protected areas along the length of the Yangtze River and declared them as National and Provincial baiji reserves (see right hand map).Image: map with conservation efforts of the Baiji along the Yangtze. 1 = Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Semi-natural Baiji Reserve; 2 = Shishou City National Baiji Reserve; 3 = Xin-Lou (Honghu) National Baiji Reserve; 4 = Tongling Provincial Baiji Reserve; 5 = Zhenjiang Provincial Baiji Reserve. Created by Peter Maas for The Sixth Extinction Website. This image has been licenced under theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0licence.In four protected areas the baiji is actively protected and fishing is completely banned: the Shishou City National Baiji Reserve, the Xin-Lou (Honghu) National Baiji Reserve, the Tongling Provincial Baiji Reserve, and the Zhenjiang Provincial Baiji Reserve. A fifth protected area is an isolated oxbow lake located off of the north bank of the river near Shishou City: the Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Semi-natural Baiji Reserve. Additionally there are five Baiji Protection Stations in Jianli, Chenglingji, Hukou, Wuhu and Zhengjiang. A "protection station" consists of two observers and a small motorized fishing boat, who make daily patrols, make observations and investigate reports of illegal fishing. (Baiji.org Foundation 2006a)The baiji is listed in Appendix 1 of CITES since 1979 (UNEP-WCMC 2006), and was listed as endangered on the IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species of 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1994. Since 1996 this animal is listed as critically endangered. (Reeveset al.2005)

CloningIn theory it would be possible to clone the baiji, because unlike to theTasmanian tiger or thylacine, fresh DNA has been retrieved and stored in recent years. The Institute of Genetic Resources, Nanjing Normal University (NJNU) has muscle and skeletal samples preserved. These samples were gathered from stranded or incidentally killed individuals from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. (Yanget al.2005)The problem is that a cetacean has never been cloned before. It is also not sure if a surrogate mother can be found in a related species. The other river dolphins are also endangered, and maybe it will not even be possible to use another river dolphin species. Besides, even when it would be technological possible to clone the baiji, than there is probably no suitable habitat left where these clones could live.

Museum SpecimensThe stuffed and enamelled body of the only captive baiji, QiQi, is kept in a specimen room at the Hydrobiology Institute in the central Chinese city of Wuhan (Macartney 2005). Do you know another museum specimen?Contactthis website.

RelativesThe baiji was one of four species of freshwater or river dolphins. The Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) and the La Plata River Dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei)from South America. The now possible only surviving Asian species is the South Asian River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica), consisting of two subspecies namely: the Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and the Indus River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor).

http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/lists/fish.htm YES!