American Museum of Natural History

On this day in 1914, Martha, the last-known living Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Her death at age 29 after a lifetime in captivity marked the disappearance of her once-abundant species from the world. And it made her name synonymous with species extinction at human hands. But what happened?

Before the second half of the nineteenth century, the Passenger Pigeon was the most common bird in the United States, with a population numbering in the billions. Flocks of pigeons flying overhead were so dense that they could darken the skies. But a combination of overhunting and habitat destruction sent this species into decline, and by the turn of the century, it was considered extinct in the wild.

Photo: Enno Meyer, CC0 1.0, Wikimedia Commons

Meet Gomphotherium productum, or the “club beast!” This early relative of elephants lived in what is now Texas about 10 million years ago. Like others in this tall, short-necked group of mammals, it probably used its tusks to scoop up food. Over time, most members of the elephant family became larger, and the number and shape of their tusks varied. Gomphotherium had interlocking upper and lower tusks, but many later elephants had only upper ones. Spot Gomphotherium in the Museum’s Hall of Advanced Mammals and learn about the elephant family tree in the exhibition The Secret World of Elephants! Plan your visit.

Photo: © AMNH

Ammonites were some of the most diverse organisms in the ancient ocean. The Museum holds one of the world’s largest collections of ammonites, containing nearly two million specimens that represent 300 million years of Earth’s history!