Cretan Owl
Encyclopedia
The Cretan Owl is an extinct species
of owl
from the Pleistocene
of Crete
, Mediterranean. It was first named by Weesie in 1982. In life, it would have been at least 2 feet tall, and flightless or nearly flightless. The Cretan Owl went extinct a while after human
s began inhabiting Crete.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
from the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Mediterranean. It was first named by Weesie in 1982. In life, it would have been at least 2 feet tall, and flightless or nearly flightless. The Cretan Owl went extinct a while after human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s began inhabiting Crete.