![]() ![]() The Dutch named it after their prince, Maurits of Nassau. They named it Island of Swans, suggesting they had sighted the dodo and mistaken it for a swan (it was about the size of a swan) It had never been inhabited by man. Mauritius had been discovered around 1500 by Portuguese ships seeking a route for the East Indies. With no mammals, the islands were dominated by birds that had evolved to fill the niches occupied elsewhere by mammals. The Mascarene Islands had been discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the early 16th century (Arab traders had already visited, but did not settle). Teelingly, the Dutch also called it Walghvogel (disgusting bird) alluding to its inedible flesh. Its common name comes from the Portuguese "doudo" (foolish) and the Dutch "dodaarsen" (fat heavy bottom). Far from being stupid and useless, it was well-adapted to its environment - an environment without mammals - and its demise was due to the introduction of predators it had not evolved to cope with. Modern research and reconstruction suggest it was not as gentle and dove-like as once supposed adult dodos could be aggressive, territorial and fight back. ![]() It was actually a giant, flightless dove. When first discovered, it was variously described as a wild turkey, a cassowary, a hooded swan, a booby or a bastard ostrich. The Mauritius dodo (Common Dodo) became extinct in 1680. Everything on Mauritius was also on Reunion, apart from the dodo which was theerefore flightless before Reunion was formed. Mauritius is approximately 10.5 million years old. These islands make up the Mascarene islands. The island of Reunion is 100 miles (160 km) south west of Mauritius Rodrigues is 300 miles (480 km) east of Mauritius. Mauritius is 500 miles (800 km) west of Madagascar. To people familiar with cooing fantail doves and feral city pigeons, it may seem odd to think of giant pigeons as dominant species, but this is what had happened. It was one of four flightless pigeons: the Mauritius, Common or Brown Dodo (Raphus cucullatus), the much-debated Reunion White Dodo (Victoriornis imperialis), the Reunion Solitaire (was Ornithaptera solitarius, currently Theskiornis solitarius) and the Rodrigues Solitaire (Pezohaps solitarius). Send us feedback about these examples.Perhaps the most famous extinct creature is the dodo we often refer to defunct things as being "as dead as a dodo" while "dodo" is a byword for stupidity and obsolescence. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dodo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 11 July 2021 See More 2023 The show’s curator, Kate Bailey, has evoked the era’s flurry of discovery and industry, its devotion to science and progress, with a carrousel of delightful oddities: an eighteen-fifties kaleidoscope, an unwieldy folding-box camera of the kind Dodgson used, the skeleton of a dodo. 2010 While bringing back creatures like the dodo and woolly mammoth might turn heads, Colossal says its work will be just as important in helping the medical and environmental fields. ![]() Nathan Lewis, Forbes, The same technique could be used to study the last days of other extinct birds with interesting evolutionary histories, including the great auk, Haast's eagle and that poster child for extinction, the dodo. 2023 Sensible people classified Rothbard with the dodoes. ![]() Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Discover Magazine, 21 Apr. 2023 Vow even tried to synthesize nuggets from the extinct dodo bird, but lacked enough DNA to accomplish the task. 2023 Scientists are trying to resurrect the dodo Genetic engineering company Colossal wants to bring the dodo back to life. Alessandro Clemente, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. Robin Swithinbank, Robb Report, 8 July 2023 At a basic level, some proponents point to the sense of wonder and appreciation of nature that could grow from the return of a creature like the dodo. Recent Examples on the Web Being a flightless bird, the plodding dodo never made it beyond the borders of the tiny Indian Ocean island and was swiftly ushered out of existence by Dutch settlers in the 17th century. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |