Erasing the extinct

The hunt for Caribbean monk seals and museum collection practices

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3095415
AutoresD Jorgensen (0000-0002-5391-9374, University of Stavanger, autor correspondente)
Ano2021
Volume28
Fascículosuppl 1
Páginas161-183
Data de publicação2021-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoHistória Ciências Saúde-Manguinhos (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0104-5970 • E-ISSN: 1678-4758
EditoraFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/s0104-59702021000500007
PMID35137865
OpenAlexW4210894082
SCIELO_PIDS0104-59702021000900161
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas28

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

Archaeology · Biology · Caribbean region · Erasure · Ethnology · Extinct species · Genealogy · Geography · History of science · Maritime history · Range (aeronautics · Seal (emblem · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Computer Science · Engineering · Historical Studies in Central America · History · Marine animal studies overview · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Travel Writing and Literature