ectopistes migratorius

3 definitions found

ectopistes migratorius - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  passenger pigeon \passenger pigeon\ (Zool.),
     A once common wild pigeon of North America (Ectopistes migratorius
     ), now extinct. It was so called on account of
     its extensive migrations.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     Note: The passenger pigeon presents a striking example of how
           dramatic a negative influence man can have on other
           species. The population of the passenger pigeon is
           estimated to have been at one time as high as five
           billion in North America, but over a period of about
           one hundred years large scale hunting for use as food
           and killing for "sport" reduced the numbers below that
           necessary to sustain existence of the species. At one
           time over 200,000 birds were shipped to the food
           markets in one day. The last wild pigeon is believed to
           have died in 1900, and the last bird in captivity died
           in 1914. It is a rare example of the date of a man-made
           extinction being recorded with certainty.
           [PJC] passe-partout

  Extinction \Ex*tinc"tion\, n. [L. extinctio, exstinction: cf. F.
     extinction.]
     1. The act of extinguishing or making extinct; a putting an
        end to; the act of putting out or destroying light, fire,
        life, activity, influence, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. State of being extinguished or of ceasing to be;
        destruction; suppression; as, the extinction of life, of a
        family, of a quarrel, of claim.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Specifically: The ceasing to exist of a species of living
        organism, such as a plant or animal, whose numbers
        declined to the point where the last member of the species
        died and therefore no new members of the species could
        ever again be born.
        [PJC]
  
     Note: Extinctions have occurred many times throughout the
           history of life on Earth, and abundant evidence of the
           prior existence of animals and plants are found as
           fossils in rock formations many millions of years old.
           It is believed by some that due to the influence of man
           on the environment and destruction of habitat, the rate
           of extinction of species is now higher than at any
           previous time on this planet. Extinctions of some
           animals in recent years have actually been reliably
           recorded, such as that of the dodo bird. A remarkable
           example of extinction is that of the passenger pigeon
           (Ectopistes migratorius) in North America, which once
           numbered in the billions, and the last living member of
           which species was recorded as dying in captivity in
           1914.
           [PJC]

ectopistes migratorius - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  Ectopistes migratorius
      n 1: gregarious North American migratory pigeon now extinct
           [syn: passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius]