Tag: tortoise

Earth’s biodiversity howls from beyond the grave

As a resident of the planet Earth, I’ve been concerned about large numbers of animals and plants going extinct.

We are currently living through a mass extinction event. Scientists at the University of Zurich found that the current rates of animals and plants going extinct are between 100 and 1000 times greater than pre-human levels. They think that this discrepancy is largely caused by the actions of human beings.

This event is referred to by scientists as the Holocene extinction, Anthropocene extinction or Sixth mass extinction.

It’s been said before, but of course bears repeating: it seems like we should probably pay more attention to the effect that we are having on the environment as a species.

All this news of ecological destruction can be stressful. It’s a big, daunting problem, and it can be difficult to want to pay attention to it consistently because it’s so depressing. Fortunately, while I was looking into it, I found that there is also some better news on the horizon when it comes to Earth’s rapid loss of biodiversity.

While we might be losing some species, many other species are also making comebacks! Here’s a few examples of species that are rising from the grave.

Coelacanth (Sarcopterygii)

Photo by Bruce Henderson on Wikimedia Commons

As a kid, I learned that these scaly fish were thought to be extinct for millions of years before a living specimen was captured in 1938.

Coelacanths are the animal that got me interested in cryptozoology. Cryptozoology is the study of animals that may or may not by mythical, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

Cryptozoologists are also interested in verified, real animals that once existed that may or may not be extinct today. Like conservationists, they often discuss species of animals that are currently threatened or endangered due to their small population.

Coelacanths changed the way that I view natural history as a whole. Learning about the return of this species made me skeptical of extinction claims made about any other species. They also made me less skeptical of scientific claims that cryptids are not always the stuff of legend and folklore. Some may be living animals currently unknown or little known to science!