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Test Yourself
Quiz: How much do you know about these extinct animals?
A Texas biotech group has claimed to have brought back a species of wolf that has been extinct for over 12,000 years.
THIS WEEK, A Dallas-based biotech company claimed to have brought a species of wolf back from extinction.
Dire wolves, which primarily lived in North America, have been extinct for over 12,500 years. But using cloning and gene editing, Colossal Biosciences announced the birth of three dire wolf pups – Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi.
While experts have said that the wolves are actually grey wolves with some dire wolf-like characteristics, the story has raised questions about whether so-called de-extinction technology could be used to resurrect other long-gone animals.
According to National Geographic, more than 99% of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct. Sadly, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that 47,000 species are currently threatened with extinction.
With this in mind, we thought we’d test your knowledge about some extinct species. How many can you get right?
The dodo has been extinct since the late 1600s. Which island were the flightless birds native to?
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Ireland
Jamaica
Seychelles
Mauritius
The largest fish ever known, some scientists argue that the largest Megalodon sharks may have measured up to what length?
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6 metres
15 metres
25 metres
40 metres
The last known Pinta Island tortoise died in 2012. He was around 110 years old and he appeared in a David Attenborough documentary - what was his name?
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Lonesome George
Lonesome Jack
Lonesome Jim
Lonesome Greg
Woolly mammoths have been extinct for about 4,000 years. In 2021, the world's oldest DNA ever recovered was extracted from a mammoth tooth. How old is it believed to be?
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700,000 years old
1.2 million years old
2.3 million years old
4 million years old
True or false - these are "woolly mice", created by the same biotech company behind the new dire wolves?
Handout
True
False
The last known Tasmanian tiger, also called a thylacine, died in captivity at a zoo in which year?
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1890
1908
1917
1936
Great auks, which have been extinct since the 1840s, once thrived in Ireland. Which of these statements about great auks is not true?
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They couldn't fly
They were about 30 inches tall
They were herbivores
Their closest living relative is the Razorbill
The last grey wolf in Ireland was killed by a farmer called John Watson in 1786 - in which county?
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Carlow
Kildare
Laois
Roscommon
The Golden Toad is believed to be one of the earliest terrestrial extinctions linked to the climate crisis. It was declared distinct in 2004, but when was the last known sighting of one?
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1963
1989
1995
2002
Finally, according to a 2011 Yale study, which dinosaur species was likely the last to exist before the mass extinction event 66 million years ago?
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Tyrannosaurus rex
Brachiosaurus
Stegosaurus
Triceratops
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