Do you realize that when something is extinct it would never go back again? Much as the same way if someone died, he will never come back again to this earth? When I was browsing the net I stumbled on to wikipedia (you know Im a geek–I think I spend 80% of my time online on Wikipedia haha) and read these species that just became extinct this past years of the 20th century. Some of these animals are unbelievably astounding but they all died in extinction. Most of them are delivered to extinction nevertheless by man’s hunting and aggression towards them. When I read the long list of the extinct animals, I became upset. I mean it would have been acceptable if they die of natural death or if they became extinct due to a giant meteor hitting the earth. But no, they became extinct because of our stupidity. From time to time, OTWOMD will feature an entry about extinct animals, how they met their extinction and what they apparently look like. For our debut, here is the Sea Mink, never to be found again!

The Sea Mink, Neovison macrodon, is an extinct North American member of the Mustelidae family. It is the only mustelid, and one of two mammalian carnivore species to have gone extinct in historic times, along with the Falkland Islands Wolf. It was significantly longer than the closely related American Mink (N. vison), and bulkier, leading to a pelt that was almost twice the size of the other species. The longest specimen recorded was said to be 82.6 cm (32.5 in). The fur of the Sea Mink was said to be coarser and redder than the American Mink’s, and to give off a distinctive odor.

It was found along the rocky coasts of New England and Atlantic Canada, as far north as Nova Scotia. It was not a truly marine species, being confined to coastal waters. The Labrador Duck, with which it co-existed, may have been a prey item.

Due to its highly prized fur, this mink was hunted to extinction. The animal’s remains are often found in Native American shell-heaps on the coasts of the islands of Maine, but while indigenous hunting may have had some contribution to the Sea Mink’s decline, it was the competitive European fur trade that led to its extinction.

The last known member of the species was said to have been captured in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1894, although there is some debate if this was a specimen of N. macrodon or N. vison. The last substantiated report has led to an estimated extinction date of around 1860,[2] although a specimen was reported as sold to a fur-buyer in Maine in 1880.

Although well known to fur hunters, it became extinct before being scientifically described, and therefore little is known about its habits. Existing data suggests it was nocturnal and solitary.

The Sea Mink is sometimes considered a subspecies of the American Mink, in which case the name Neovison vison macrodon is used.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Mustelinae
Genus: Neovison
Species: N. macrodon
Extinction: 1894