Professor, University of Stavanger. Stavanger - Norway
Hist Cienc Saude Manguinhos. 2021 Dec;28(suppl 1):161-183. doi: 10.1590/S0104-59702021000500007.
The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), the only seal species native to Central America, was declared extinct in 2008, with the last confirmed sighting in 1952. This species historically had a broad range throughout the gulf of Mexico. This article discusses the history of Western science on the monk seal, from its first recorded sighting by a Western colonizer in 1492 to scientific collection in the 1800s and 1900s, as a history of the erasure of this species. Museum practices of collecting and displaying Caribbean monk seals have directly contributed to this erasure, and ways of writing a new history by giving the Caribbean monk seal the capacity to refuse erasure are suggested.
加勒比僧海豹（Monachus tropicalis）是中美洲唯一的原生海豹物种，已于 2008 年宣布灭绝，最后一次确认目击是在 1952 年。该物种历史上在墨西哥湾广泛分布。本文讨论了西方科学对僧海豹的历史，从 1492 年西方殖民者首次记录到 19 世纪和 20 世纪的科学采集，这是该物种被抹去的历史。收集和展示加勒比僧海豹的博物馆做法直接促成了这种抹杀，本文建议通过赋予加勒比僧海豹拒绝被抹杀的能力来书写一段新的历史。
