Article ID: CBB763453622

The Endling Taxidermy of Lonesome George: Iconographies of Extinction at the End of the Line (2019)

unapi

Bringing greater visibility to the emerging category of endling taxidermy, this article traces the histories of taxidermic preservations and biotechnological interventions that lead up to, and follow, the extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise. As the last of the line, Lonesome George (the last individual of the Pinta Island species) is an endling that has been rendered hypervisible in the public imagination as an icon of conservation. Yet the taxidermic form of Lonesome George is also accompanied by an enlarged and conflicting sense of trepidation and optimism about the future of species biodiversity in the wake of the sixth mass extinction. By gathering together the narrative strands of tortoise extinction in the Galápagos Islands from a diverse range of natural scientific, nautical, and literary histories, this article explores how the visual display of endling taxidermy shapes the origins, endings, and future trajectories of extinct species lines.

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Authors & Contributors
Morris, Pat A.
Hennessy, Elizabeth
Hughes, Zoe
Karen Karen Lloyd D'Onofrio
Aloi, Giovanni
Coffman, Douglass
Concepts
Natural history
Taxidermy
Sculpture
Museums
Exhibits
Reptiles
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
21st century
20th century, late
18th century
Places
Galapagos Islands
Great Britain
Queensland (Australia)
Glasgow (Scotland)
Scotland
United States
Institutions
Oxford University
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