Great auk

The great auk was a large, flightless seabird of the North Atlantic and the only modern species in its genus, Pinguinus. Intensive hunting for meat, oil, and feathers drove it to extinction in the nineteenth century.

Razorbill: The razorbill is a black-and-white North Atlantic seabird and the great auk’s closest living relative. Its close relationship links the extinct great auk to living alcids.
Flightlessness: Flightlessness is the condition of being unable to fly, often accompanied by adaptations for other forms of movement. Reduced wings helped the great auk propel itself underwater but prevented escape by air.
John James Audubon: John James Audubon was an American ornithologist and artist known for The Birds of America. He recorded accounts of great auks and their eggs during the species’ decline.
Extinction: Extinction is the permanent loss of a species when its last individual dies. The great auk is a well-documented case of human-caused species extinction.
Extinction in art: Extinction in art is the representation of vanished species and their loss through artistic works. Images and stories of the great auk make its disappearance culturally legible.
Alcidae: Alcidae is a family of seabirds that includes auks, murres, guillemots, and puffins. The great auk belonged to this family of wing-propelled diving birds.
Wing-propelled diving: Wing-propelled diving is underwater swimming in which birds use their wings to generate thrust. The great auk pursued prey by flying through water with its short wings.
Charles Bonaparte: Charles Bonaparte was a French naturalist and ornithologist who studied and classified birds. His ornithological work helped document the great auk in the nineteenth century.
1844 great auk killings: The 1844 great auk killings were the deaths of the last widely accepted breeding pair on Eldey, Iceland. These killings mark the species’ generally accepted final confirmed breeding record.
De-extinction: De-extinction is the use of biotechnology or selective breeding to recreate traits of extinct species. The great auk’s preserved specimens raise questions about whether extinction can be reversed.

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