Quiz: How much do you know about these extinct animals?

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?

Alamy

Ireland

Jamaica

Seychelles

Mauritius

The largest fish ever known, some scientists argue that the largest Megalodon sharks may have measured up to what length?

Alamy

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?

Alamy

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?

Alamy

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?

Alamy

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?

Alamy

Tyrannosaurus rex

Brachiosaurus

Stegosaurus

Triceratops

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