A few nice extinct animals images I found:
The "Dead Zoo" - Dublin (The Natural History Museum)
Image by infomatique
The Natural History Museum, which is part of the National Museum, although often thought of as distinct, is on Merrion Street in Dublin and houses specimens of animals from around the world. Its collection and Victorian appearance have not changed significantly since the early 20th century.
For many years this museum was closed due to renovations but it reopened in April 2010.
The museum is crammed with antique glass cabinets containing stuffed animals from around the world. There are three huge skeletons of the extinct giant deer, better known as the "Irish elk". There are shelves stacked with jars of bizarre creatures such as octopuses, leeches and worms preserved in embalming fluid. Believe me children really love the place.
White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum) mother and calf
Image by Rainbirder
Ol Pejeta Conservancy holds one of the largest single populations of Black Rhino in the World with over 80 animals.
As a consequence of increasing poaching pressure in Southern Africa they have also started breeding Southern White Rhino with excellent results.
Recently Ol Pejeta conservancy became the new home for four Northern White Rhinos (thought to be 50% of the World's population) which were transferred from a Czech zoo in the hope that they may breed more successfully in a semi-wild enviroment. The last wild Northern White Rhinos were to be found in Garamba NP in the Democratic Republic of Congo but these are all now believed to have been poached.
Recent studies suggest that the Northern and Southern populations of White Rhino became separated over a million years ago. There are subtle but distinct differences in their cranial morphology and dentition whilst genetic studies indicate differences in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA which together support the elevation of Northern White Rhinos to specific status (see: www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/ref_files/1271158453.pdf ). If this becomes generally accepted then the World will have six and not five extant rhino species. The bitter irony is that the Northern White Rhino -which may now be re-named the Nile Rhino (Ceratotherium cottoni), might just have survived long enough to be described as a new species before it is declared extinct!
Ammonite Macro: Pattern and Flash
Image by cobalt123
A beautiful specimen for sale at the Tucson Rock and Gem Show, offered by the Norcross dealer. I brought home its little sister. This polished fossil ammonite has a great pattern and color. They were marine animals and similar to cephalopods like octopus, squid and cuttlefish. They were NOT like the Nautilus, a different marine animal that is a "living fossil" today. This species in my photo is likely 65 to 100 million years old, and came from Madagascar. Ammonites went extinct around the same time as dinosaurs. More on ammonites here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonite
And great photos of other species are here:
www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/Ammonites.htm
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