The New Age of Extinction

Vanishing ActBy Bryan Walsh

From Time April, 13 2009

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Index

• Where is Madagascar?• Andasibe-Mantadia National Park• The Extinction waves• The sixth wave• Madagascar’s animals• Bibliography

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Where is Madagascar?• Madagascar is in many ways an Earth

apart, where animals and plants evolve into forms utterly original

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Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

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The extinction waves

• There have been five extinction waves in the planet's history

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The sixth wave

• This time the cause is human activities

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Madagascar animals• Madagascar has seen more than 80% of

its original vegetation cut down

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Leaf-tailed gecko• Uroplatus fimbriatus is a gecko which is

found in eastern Madagascar

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Parson's chameleon• The Calumma parsonii is a species of

chameleon • it is endemic to isolated pockets of humid

primary forest in eastern and northern Madagascar

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PYGMY MOUSE LEMUR• Microcebus myoxinus

is the second smallest of the mouse lemurs.

• It lives in dry deciduous forests of western Madagascar

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CARNIVOROUS FOSSA• Cryptoprocta ferox is

a mammal endemic to Madagascar

• The fossa hunts small to medium sized animals, from fish to birds

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GOLDEN FROG• Mantella is a genus

of frogs, endemic to Madagascar

• The iridescent colors reflect the toxic nature of their skins

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Bibliography• The New Age of Extinction, Bryan Walsh,

Time,13 April 2009• Animals under siege, T. Boucher, Time, April 13,

2009• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki (last access 05-2010)• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki (last access

05-2010)

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Liceo scientifico A. Oriani RavennaSchool year: 2009-2010

Interdisciplinary project: Man and the environment-Climate changes

and endangered speciesSubjects involved: English, I.T.

Teachers involved: Prof.ssa SiboniClass: 1°C P.N.I.

Students involved: Girau Luca e Terrazzi Paolo