![]() ![]() The Dodo’s scientific name has changed several times as ideas of its evolutionary relationships have shifted. The first official name given to the unique bird was Cygnus cucullatus by Juan Eusebio Nieremberg in 1635. Cucullatus means "hooded," and was used in reference to the drawing of the Dodo by the Dutch botanist Carolus Clusius. The use of the genus, Cygnus, presumably reflects Nieremberg’s idea that the Dodo was related to swans. In 1758 the Dodo was renamed as Struthio cucullatus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae by Linneaus Struthio is Latin for "ostrich." Two years later, in 1760, the genus was renamed again to Raphus cucullatus by Mathurin Jacques Brisson, most likely in reference to the name Raphos used to describe "the bustard," by Greek physician Galenus. In 1766, the Dodo was renamed once again to Didus ineptus in the 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It wasn’t long before these birds went extinct – which it officially did in 1681.Despite the inherent appeal of a name that meant “inept Dodo,” the Dodo officially became Raphus cucullatus because of prior naming rules.ĭid you know? The history of the name gives clues to possible close relatives of the Dodo. All of these animals would eat the eggs of the Dodo Bird – a bird which only laid one egg at a time. The ships bring sailors and inmates to this island often had rats and these rats would also escape to the island. Later when the island became a penal colony (an island prison) cats, dogs and monkeys were introduced to the island. In fact, what they couldn’t eat, they often preserved in salt, for storage. For one, colonists clubbed and ate quite a few of these birds. One of the facts about Dodo Birds is that its extinction was due to a number of different factors. Which probably gave rise to the notion that these birds were less than intelligent. When the settlers and their pets arrived, these birds just didn’t know they had to be afraid of them. Which is probably where the fat and lazy propaganda description came from. However, scientists do know that since these birds had no natural predators for thousands of years on the island of Mauritius, they had no need to develop defenses. Some of the information that early settlers provided about these birds were highly exaggerated and in some cases downright mean. ![]() Little else is known about how these birds look because its look is based on drawings made during the time. They took it upon themselves to give the Dodo Bird more of a plump look.ĭodo Birds were about 3 feet tall and weighed around 25 pounds. Why are they so often depicted as fat? Well, that would have a lot to do with several European artists at the time. In fact, most of these birds were generally on the thin side. However, their supposed obesity is not entirely accurate. That is how they were drawn, as fat and lazy birds that were incapable of even evading animals hunting them. Most of the images show birds that were not only large but were pretty fat. If you take a good look at most Dodo Bird pictures, then you’ll soon see an emerging pattern. And over the next few thousand years, they began to evolve until they eventually became the Dodo Bird. In this new environment, these pigeons not only survived but prospered. This is when a flock of pigeons navigated off course and ended up on a little island that is located in the Indian Ocean – just east of Madagascar. The history of the Dodo Bird can be traced all the way back to the Pleistocene Epoch – about 2.6 million to 12,000 years ago. It is also a bird that was given a bad reputation and was eventually labeled as fat, lazy and dumb – although this might not necessarily be the case. It was a bird that went extinct over 300 years ago but is still one of the first things most people think about when they think about extinctions that were caused by human beings. The Dodo Bird – also known as Raphus cucullatus – is an extinct and flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius. ![]()
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