Why do we think it went extinct?

Prehistoric Life (100 points)
Select an extinct prehistoric organism of interest to you (e.g., a particular dinosaur, Pleistocene
megafauna; Google “prehistoric animals” or similar for ideas). Hominidae (i.e.: humans) are the
subject of the fourth writing assignment, so don’t select humans for this.
Write a cohesive essay (1000 words; roughly 3 pages), with intro and conclusion, incorporating
the following:
• What clades (e.g., Class, Order) do this organism belong to? What features define those
clades? (e.g., Canis dirus is in Class Mammalia, a group which includes all animals with
hair, mammary glands, etc.) Remember to use the proper formatting of a scientific name,
and if you’re writing about something with a common name (e.g., woolly mammoth),
include the scientific name at least once. Find that italics button!
• What other members of the Family or Genus are known (i.e.: what is it closely related
to)? Are any of its relatives still alive today?
• Describe them briefly, especially any distinct anatomical features (size, quadrupedal
posture, etc.).
• What was their life like? What did they eat? What interesting behaviors did they have
(herd activity, vocalization, etc.)? Where did they live?
• What survives of these organisms in the fossil record? Are there full skeletons? Are they
only known from a selection of teeth or bones? Where have their fossils been found?
• When did the organism arise, and when did it go extinct? Why do we think it went
extinct?
• Are there any interesting stories associated with the organism’s discovery?
• What major unresolved questions do we have about the organism that paleontologists
might be able to solve in the future?
Feel free to go beyond the above points. Tell me cool things about your animal/group of
animals.
Sources:
Use at least three sources, one of which must be a published scientific journal article (ie: not a
webpage or newspaper). The library website is a great place to find articles that you have access
to. Type an animal’s name into the main search box and see what comes up! Google Scholar
(http://scholar.google.com) is also a good search engine, but you’re more likely to find papers
locked behind a paywall (Never pay for an article).
The other two sources can be popular science articles, but not encyclopedia or “fact-sheet” type
webpages (e.g., Enchanted Learning, Wikipedia). A reliable, professional article will generally
have an author listed.
That said, Wikipedia is a good starting point to help you find what to look up. You may also cite
Wikipedia for age and Linnaean classification information if you need to, but it doesn’t count as
one of the three article sources.
If you have questions about whether a source is appropriate, send me an email!
Cite your sources, using whichever citation style is preferred for your major. Use in-text
citations or footnotes. I won’t be judging your citation formatting, as long as it’s informative and
complete. Include the URL of any Internet sources you use as part of the citation.
Rules:
Be sure to hit the word count! The word count is part of the SJSU Studies requirement! Use a
standard font and margins, and double space. Include your name in the header.
Spell check. Write well. Use complete sentences. The plural of “scientist” is “scientists!”
“Apart” and “a part” have the opposite meaning!
No plagiarism. Don’t include quotes from an article (you can reference without quoting).
There’s no reason for quotes in a paper like this. Don’t copy sentences directly from a source.
Even a sentence that is slightly modified is considered plagiarized. Always write your own
sentences. Plagiarism will get you a zero!