Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices
Abstract The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), the only seal species native to Central America, was declared extinct in 2008, with the last confirmed sighting in 1952. This species historically had a broad range throughout the gulf of Mexico. This article discusses the history of Western sc...
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| Language: | English |
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Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz
2022-02-01
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| Series: | História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-59702021000900161&lng=en&tlng=en |
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| _version_ | 1849250911674695680 |
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| author | Dolly Jørgensen |
| author_facet | Dolly Jørgensen |
| author_sort | Dolly Jørgensen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), the only seal species native to Central America, was declared extinct in 2008, with the last confirmed sighting in 1952. This species historically had a broad range throughout the gulf of Mexico. This article discusses the history of Western science on the monk seal, from its first recorded sighting by a Western colonizer in 1492 to scientific collection in the 1800s and 1900s, as a history of the erasure of this species. Museum practices of collecting and displaying Caribbean monk seals have directly contributed to this erasure, and ways of writing a new history by giving the Caribbean monk seal the capacity to refuse erasure are suggested. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7f04c8078faf418aa727d69c05beabb5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1678-4758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz |
| record_format | Article |
| series | História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos |
| spelling | doaj-art-7f04c8078faf418aa727d69c05beabb52025-08-20T03:57:08ZengFundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo CruzHistória, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos1678-47582022-02-0128suppl 116118310.1590/s0104-59702021000500007Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practicesDolly Jørgensenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5391-9374Abstract The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), the only seal species native to Central America, was declared extinct in 2008, with the last confirmed sighting in 1952. This species historically had a broad range throughout the gulf of Mexico. This article discusses the history of Western science on the monk seal, from its first recorded sighting by a Western colonizer in 1492 to scientific collection in the 1800s and 1900s, as a history of the erasure of this species. Museum practices of collecting and displaying Caribbean monk seals have directly contributed to this erasure, and ways of writing a new history by giving the Caribbean monk seal the capacity to refuse erasure are suggested.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-59702021000900161&lng=en&tlng=enenvironmental historyextinctionmuseumsnatural historyanimals |
| spellingShingle | Dolly Jørgensen Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos environmental history extinction museums natural history animals |
| title | Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices |
| title_full | Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices |
| title_fullStr | Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices |
| title_short | Erasing the extinct: the hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices |
| title_sort | erasing the extinct the hunt for caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices |
| topic | environmental history extinction museums natural history animals |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-59702021000900161&lng=en&tlng=en |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dollyjørgensen erasingtheextinctthehuntforcaribbeanmonksealsandmuseumcollectionpractices |