document_title: Great Pyramid of Giza

question_text: how long did it take to build great pyramid of giza

text: Great Pyramid of Giza

text: History and description

text: It is believed[by whom?] the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (often Hellenicised as "Cheops") and was constructed over a 20-year period. Khufu's vizier, Hemiunu (also called Hemon), is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid.[3] It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall (146.5 metres (480.6 ft)), but with erosion and absence of its pyramidion, its present height is 138.8 metres (455.4 ft). Each base side was 440 cubits, 230.4 metres (755.9 ft) long. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres (88,000,000 cu ft).[4]

text: Based on these estimates, building the pyramid in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day. Additionally, since it consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks, completing the building in 20 years would involve moving an average of more than 12 of the blocks into place each hour, day and night. The first precision measurements of the pyramid were made by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published as The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh.[5] Almost all reports are based on his measurements. Many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the northeastern casing stones, the mean opening of the joints is only 0.5 millimetre wide (1/50 of an inch).[6]

text: The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years,[7] unsurpassed until the 160-metre-tall (520 ft) spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300. The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length.[8] The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm (0.6 in).[9] The sides of the square base are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass points (within four minutes of arc)[10] based on true north, not magnetic north,[11] and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12 seconds of arc.[12]

text: The completed design dimensions, as suggested by Petrie's survey and subsequent studies, are estimated to have originally been 280 royal cubits high by 440 cubits long at each of the four sides of its base. The ratio of the perimeter to height of 1760/280 royal cubits equates to 2π to an accuracy of better than 0.05% (corresponding to the well-known approximation of π as 22/7). Some Egyptologists consider this to have been the result of deliberate design proportion. Verner wrote, "We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of π, in practice they used it".[13] Petrie, author of Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh concluded: "but these relations of areas and of circular ratio are so systematic that we should grant that they were in the builder's design".[14] Others have argued that the Ancient Egyptians had no concept of pi and would not have thought to encode it in their monuments. They believe that the observed pyramid slope may be based on a simple seked slope choice alone, with no regard to the overall size and proportions of the finished building.[15] In 2013 rolls of papyrus called The diary of Merer were discovered written by some of those who delivered stone and other construction materials to Khufu's brother at Giza.[16]

text: Materials

text: The Great Pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks which most believe to have been transported from nearby quarries. The Tura limestone used for the casing was quarried across the river. The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "King's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported from Aswan, more than 800 km (500 mi) away. Traditionally, ancient Egyptians cut stone blocks by hammering into them some wooden wedges, which were then soaked with water. As the water was absorbed, the wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid.[17] It is estimated that 5.5 million tonnes of limestone, 8,000 tonnes of granite (imported from Aswan), and 500,000 tonnes of mortar were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid.[18]

text: Casing stones

text: At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white "casing stones" – slant-faced, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white limestone. These were carefully cut to what is approximately a face slope with a seked of 5½ palms to give the required dimensions. Visibly, all that remains is the underlying stepped core structure seen today. In AD 1303, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones, which were then carted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan in 1356 to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. Many more casing stones were removed from the great pyramids by Muhammad Ali Pasha in the early 19th century to build the upper portion of his Alabaster Mosque in Cairo not far from Giza. These limestone casings can still be seen as parts of these structures. Later explorers reported massive piles of rubble at the base of the pyramids left over from the continuing collapse of the casing stones, which were subsequently cleared away during continuing excavations of the site.

text: Nevertheless, a few of the casing stones from the lowest course can be seen to this day in situ around the base of the Great Pyramid, and display the same workmanship and precision that has been reported for centuries. Petrie also found a different orientation in the core and in the casing measuring 193 centimetres ± 25 centimetres. He suggested a redetermination of north was made after the construction of the core, but a mistake was made, and the casing was built with a different orientation.[5] Petrie related the precision of the casing stones as to being "equal to opticians' work of the present day, but on a scale of acres" and "to place such stones in exact contact would be careful work; but to do so with cement in the joints seems almost impossible".[20] It has been suggested it was the mortar (Petrie's "cement") that made this seemingly impossible task possible, providing a level bed, which enabled the masons to set the stones exactly.[21][22]

text: Construction theories

text: Many alternative, often contradictory, theories have been proposed regarding the pyramid's construction techniques.[23] Many disagree on whether the blocks were dragged, lifted, or even rolled into place. The Greeks believed that slave labour was used, but modern discoveries made at nearby workers' camps associated with construction at Giza suggest that it was built instead by tens of thousands of skilled workers. Verner posited that the labour was organized into a hierarchy, consisting of two gangs of 100,000 men, divided into five zaa or phyle of 20,000 men each, which may have been further divided according to the skills of the workers.[24]

text: One mystery of the pyramid's construction is its planning. John Romer suggests that they used the same method that had been used for earlier and later constructions, laying out parts of the plan on the ground at a 1-to-1 scale. He writes that "such a working diagram would also serve to generate the architecture of the pyramid with precision unmatched by any other means".[25] He also argues for a 14-year time span for its construction.[26] A modern construction management study, in association with Mark Lehner and other Egyptologists, estimated that the total project required an average workforce of 14,567 people and a peak workforce of roughly 40,000. Without the use of pulleys, wheels, or iron tools, they used critical path analysis methods, which suggest that the Great Pyramid was completed from start to finish in approximately 10 years.[27]

text: Interior

text: The original entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the north, 17 metres (56 ft) vertically above ground level and 7.29 metres (23.9 ft) east of the centre line of the pyramid. From this original entrance, there is a Descending Passage 0.96 metres (3.1 ft) high and 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide, which goes down at an angle of 26° 31'23" through the masonry of the pyramid and then into the bedrock beneath it. After 105.23 metres (345.2 ft), the passage becomes level and continues for an additional 8.84 metres (29.0 ft) to the lower Chamber, which appears not to have been finished. There is a continuation of the horizontal passage in the south wall of the lower chamber; there is also a pit dug in the floor of the chamber. Some Egyptologists suggest that this Lower Chamber was intended to be the original burial chamber, but Pharaoh Khufu later changed his mind and wanted it to be higher up in the pyramid.[28]

text: 28.2 metres (93 ft) from the entrance is a square hole in the roof of the Descending Passage. Originally concealed with a slab of stone, this is the beginning of the Ascending Passage. The Ascending Passage is 39.3 metres (129 ft) long, as wide and high as the Descending Passage and slopes up at almost precisely the same angle to reach the Grand Gallery. The lower end of the Ascending Passage is closed by three huge blocks of granite, each about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long. One must use the Robbers' Tunnel (see below) to access the Ascending Passage. At the start of the Grand Gallery on the right-hand side there is a hole cut in the wall. This is the start of a vertical shaft which follows an irregular path through the masonry of the pyramid to join the Descending Passage. Also at the start of the Grand Gallery there is the Horizontal Passage leading to the "Queen's Chamber". The passage is 1.1m (3'8") high for most of its length, but near the chamber there is a step in the floor, after which the passage is 1.73 metres (5.7 ft) high.

text: Queen's Chamber

text: The "Queen's Chamber"[2] is exactly halfway between the north and south faces of the pyramid and measures 5.75 metres (18.9 ft) north to south, 5.23 metres (17.2 ft) east to west, and has a pointed roof with an apex 6.23 metres (20.4 ft) above the floor. At the eastern end of the chamber there is a niche 4.67 metres (15.3 ft) high. The original depth of the niche was 1.04 metres (3.4 ft), but has since been deepened by treasure hunters.[citation needed]

text: In the north and south walls of the Queen's Chamber there are shafts, which unlike those in the King's Chamber that immediately slope upwards (see below), are horizontal for around 2 m (6.6 ft) before sloping upwards. The horizontal distance was cut in 1872 by a British engineer, Waynman Dixon, who believed a shaft similar to those in the King's Chamber must also exist. He was proved right, but because the shafts are not connected to the outer faces of the pyramid or the Queen's Chamber, their purpose is unknown. At the end of one of his shafts, Dixon discovered a ball of black diorite (a type of rock) and a bronze implement of unknown purpose. Both objects are currently in the British Museum.[29]

text: The shafts in the Queen's Chamber were explored in 1993 by the German engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink using a crawler robot he designed, Upuaut 2. After a climb of 65 m (213 ft),[30] he discovered that one of the shafts was blocked by limestone "doors" with two eroded copper "handles". Some years later the National Geographic Society created a similar robot which, in September 2002, drilled a small hole in the southern door, only to find another door behind it.[31] The northern passage, which was difficult to navigate because of twists and turns, was also found to be blocked by a door.[32]

text: Research continued in 2011 with the Djedi Project. Realizing the problem was that the National Geographic Society's camera was only able to see straight ahead of it, they instead used a fiber-optic "micro snake camera" that could see around corners. With this they were able to penetrate the first door of the southern shaft through the hole drilled in 2002, and view all the sides of the small chamber behind it. They discovered hieroglyphs written in red paint. They were also able to scrutinize the inside of the two copper "handles" embedded in the door, and they now believe them to be for decorative purposes. They also found the reverse side of the "door" to be finished and polished, which suggests that it was not put there just to block the shaft from debris, but rather for a more specific reason.[33]

text: Grand Gallery

text: The Grand Gallery continues the slope of the Ascending Passage, but is 8.6 metres (28 ft) high and 46.68 metres (153.1 ft) long. At the base it is 2.06 metres (6.8 ft) wide, but after 2.29 metres (7.5 ft) the blocks of stone in the walls are corbelled inwards by 7.6 centimetres (3.0 in) on each side. There are seven of these steps, so, at the top, the Grand Gallery is only 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide. It is roofed by slabs of stone laid at a slightly steeper angle than the floor of the gallery, so that each stone fits into a slot cut in the top of the gallery like the teeth of a ratchet. The purpose was to have each block supported by the wall of the Gallery rather than resting on the block beneath it, which would have resulted in an unacceptable cumulative pressure at the lower end of the Gallery.[citation needed]

text: At the upper end of the Gallery on the right-hand side there is a hole near the roof that opens into a short tunnel by which access can be gained to the lowest of the Relieving Chambers. The other Relieving Chambers were discovered in 1837-1838 by Colonel Howard Vyse and J. S. Perring, who dug tunnels upwards using blasting powder.

text: The floor of the Grand Gallery consists of a shelf or step on either side, 51 centimetres (20 in) wide, leaving a lower ramp 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) wide between them. In the shelves there are 54 slots, 27 on each side matched by vertical and horizontal slots in the walls of the Gallery. These form a cross shape that rises out of the slot in the shelf. The purpose of these slots is not known, but the central gutter in the floor of the Gallery, which is the same width as the Ascending Passage, has led to speculation that the blocking stones were stored in the Grand Gallery and the slots held wooden beams to restrain them from sliding down the passage.[34] This, in turn, has led to the proposal that originally many more than 3 blocking stones were intended, to completely fill the Ascending Passage.[citation needed]

text: At the top of the Grand Gallery, there is a step giving onto a horizontal passage some metres long and approximately 1.02 metres (3.3 ft) in height and width, in which can be detected four slots, three of which were probably intended to hold granite portcullises. Fragments of granite found by Petrie in the Descending Passage may have come from these now-vanished doors.

text: King's Chamber

text: The "King's Chamber"[2] is 20 cubits or 10.47 metres (34.4 ft) from east to west and 10 cubits or 5.234 metres (17.17 ft) north to south. It has a flat roof 11 cubits and 5 digits or 5.852 metres (19 feet 2 inch) above the floor. 0.91 m (3.0 ft) above the floor there are two narrow shafts in the north and south walls (one is now filled by an extractor fan in an attempt to circulate air inside the pyramid). The purpose of these shafts is not clear: they appear to be aligned towards stars or areas of the northern and southern skies, yet one of them follows a dog-leg course through the masonry, indicating no intention to directly sight stars through them. They were long believed by Egyptologists to be "air shafts" for ventilation, but this idea has now been widely abandoned in favour of the shafts serving a ritualistic purpose associated with the ascension of the king’s spirit to the heavens.[35]

text: The King's Chamber is entirely faced with granite. Above the roof, which is formed of nine slabs of stone weighing in total about 400 tons, are five compartments known as Relieving Chambers. The first four, like the King's Chamber, have flat roofs formed by the floor of the chamber above, but the final chamber has a pointed roof. Vyse suspected the presence of upper chambers when he found that he could push a long reed through a crack in the ceiling of the first chamber. From lower to upper, the chambers are known as "Davison's Chamber", "Wellington's Chamber", "Nelson's Chamber", "Lady Arbuthnot's Chamber", and "Campbell's Chamber". It is believed that the compartments were intended to safeguard the King's Chamber from the possibility of a roof collapsing under the weight of stone above the Chamber. As the chambers were not intended to be seen, they were not finished in any way and a few of the stones still retain masons' marks painted on them. One of the stones in Campbell's Chamber bears a mark, apparently the name of a work gang.[36][37]

text: The only object in the King's Chamber is a rectangular granite sarcophagus, one corner of which is broken. The sarcophagus is slightly larger than the Ascending Passage, which indicates that it must have been placed in the Chamber before the roof was put in place. Unlike the fine masonry of the walls of the Chamber, the sarcophagus is roughly finished, with saw marks visible in several places. This is in contrast with the finely finished and decorated sarcophagi found in other pyramids of the same period. Petrie suggested that such a sarcophagus was intended but was lost in the river on the way north from Aswan and a hurriedly made replacement was used instead.

text: Modern entrance

text: Today tourists enter the Great Pyramid via the Robbers' Tunnel, a tunnel purportedly created around AD 820 by Caliph al-Ma'mun's workmen using a battering ram.[38] The tunnel is cut straight through the masonry of the pyramid for approximately 27 metres (89 ft), then turns sharply left to encounter the blocking stones in the Ascending Passage. It is believed that their efforts dislodged the stone fitted in the ceiling of the Descending Passage to hide the entrance to the Ascending Passage and it was the noise of that stone falling and then sliding down the Descending Passage, which alerted them to the need to turn left. Unable to remove these stones, however, the workmen tunnelled up beside them through the softer limestone of the Pyramid until they reached the Ascending Passage. It is possible to enter the Descending Passage from this point, but access is usually forbidden.[39]

text: Pyramid complex

text: The Great Pyramid is surrounded by a complex of several buildings including small pyramids. The Pyramid Temple, which stood on the east side of the pyramid and measured 52.2 metres (171 ft) north to south and 40 metres (130 ft) east to west, has almost entirely disappeared apart from the black basalt paving. There are only a few remnants of the causeway which linked the pyramid with the valley and the Valley Temple. The Valley Temple is buried beneath the village of Nazlet el-Samman; basalt paving and limestone walls have been found but the site has not been excavated.[40][41] The basalt blocks show "clear evidence" of having been cut with some kind of saw with an estimated cutting blade of 15 feet (4.6 m) in length, capable of cutting at a rate of 1.5 inches (38 mm) per minute. John Romer suggests that this "super saw" may have had copper teeth and weighed up to 300 pounds (140 kg). He theorizes that such a saw could have been attached to a wooden trestle and possibly used in conjunction with vegetable oil, cutting sand, emery or pounded quartz to cut the blocks, which would have required the labour of at least a dozen men to operate it.[42]

text: On the south side are the subsidiary pyramids, popularly known as Queens' Pyramids. Three remain standing to nearly full height but the fourth was so ruined that its existence was not suspected until the recent discovery of the first course of stones and the remains of the capstone. Hidden beneath the paving around the pyramid was the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, sister-wife of Sneferu and mother of Khufu. Discovered by accident by the Reisner expedition, the burial was intact, though the carefully sealed coffin proved to be empty.

text: The Giza pyramid complex, which includes among other structures the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, is surrounded by a cyclopean stone wall, the Wall of the Crow. Mark Lehner has discovered a worker's town outside of the wall, otherwise known as "The Lost City", dated by pottery styles, seal impressions, and stratigraphy to have been constructed and occupied sometime during the reigns of Khafre (2520–2494 BC) and Menkaure (2490–2472 BC).[43][44] Recent discoveries by Mark Lehner and his team at the town and nearby, including what appears to have been a thriving port, suggest the town and associated living quarters consisting of barracks called "galleries" may not have been for the pyramid workers after all, but rather for the soldiers and sailors who utilized the port. In light of this new discovery, as to where then the pyramid workers may have lived Lehner now suggests the alternative possibility they may have camped on the ramps he believes were used to construct the pyramids or possibly at nearby quarries.[45]

text: In the early 1970s, the Australian archaeologist Karl Kromer excavated a mound in the South Field of the plateau. This mound contained artefacts including mudbrick seals of Khufu, which he identified with an artisans' settlement.[46] Mudbrick buildings just south of Khufu's Valley Temple contained mud sealings of Khufu and have been suggested to be a settlement serving the cult of Khufu after his death.[47] A worker's cemetery used at least between Khufu's reign and the end of the Fifth Dynasty was discovered south of the Wall of the Crow by Zahi Hawass in 1990.[48]

text: Boats

text: There are three boat-shaped pits around the pyramid, of a size and shape to have held complete boats, though so shallow that any superstructure, if there ever was one, must have been removed or disassembled. In May 1954, the Egyptian archaeologist Kamal el-Mallakh discovered a fourth pit, a long, narrow rectangle, still covered with slabs of stone weighing up to 15 tons. Inside were 1,224 pieces of wood, the longest 23 metres (75 ft) long, the shortest 10 centimetres (0.33 ft). These were entrusted to a boat builder, Haj Ahmed Yusuf, who worked out how the pieces fit together. The entire process, including conservation and straightening of the warped wood, took fourteen years.

text: The result is a cedar-wood boat 43.6 metres (143 ft) long, its timbers held together by ropes, which is currently housed in a special boat-shaped, air-conditioned museum beside the pyramid. During construction of this museum, which stands above the boat pit, a second sealed boat pit was discovered. It was deliberately left unopened until 2011 when excavation began on the boat.[49]

text: Looting

text: Although succeeding pyramids were smaller, pyramid building continued until the end of the Middle Kingdom. However, as authors Briar and Hobbs claim, "all the pyramids were robbed" by the New Kingdom, when the construction of royal tombs in a desert valley, now known as the Valley of the Kings, began.[50][51] Joyce Tyldesley states that the Great Pyramid itself "is known to have been opened and emptied by the Middle Kingdom", before the Arab caliph Abdullah al-Mamun entered the pyramid around AD 820.[38]

text: I. E. S. Edwards discusses Strabo's mention that the pyramid "a little way up one side has a stone that may be taken out, which being raised up there is a sloping passage to the foundations". Edwards suggested that the pyramid was entered by robbers after the end of the Old Kingdom and sealed and then reopened more than once until Strabo's door was added. He adds: "If this highly speculative surmise be correct, it is also necessary to assume either that the existence of the door was forgotten or that the entrance was again blocked with facing stones", in order to explain why al-Ma'mun could not find the entrance.[52]

text: He also discusses a story told by Herodotus. Herodotus visited Egypt in the 5th century BC and recounts a story that he was told concerning vaults under the pyramid built on an island where the body of Cheops lies. Edwards notes that the pyramid had "almost certainly been opened and its contents plundered long before the time of Herodotus" and that it might have been closed again during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt when other monuments were restored. He suggests that the story told to Herodotus could have been the result of almost two centuries of telling and retelling by Pyramid guides.[53]


document_title: Star Trek (film)

question_text: who played spock's mother in star trek 2009

question_tokens: who played spock 's mother in star trek 2009

root

text: Star Trek (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the 23rd century, the Federation starship USS Kelvin is investigating a "lightning storm" in space. A Romulan ship, Narada, emerges from the storm and attacks Kelvin. Narada's first officer, Ayel, demands that Kelvin's Captain Robau come aboard to negotiate a truce. Robau is questioned about the current stardate and an "Ambassador Spock", whom he does not recognize. Narada's commander, Nero, kills him, and resumes attacking Kelvin. George Kirk, Kelvin's first officer, orders the ship's personnel, including his pregnant wife Winona, to abandon ship while he pilots Kelvin on a collision course with Narada. Kirk sacrifices his life to ensure Winona's survival as she gives birth to James T. Kirk.

tag: p

text: Seventeen years later on the planet Vulcan, a young Spock is accepted to join the Vulcan Science Academy. Realizing that the Academy views his human mother Amanda as a "disadvantage", he joins Starfleet instead. On Earth, Kirk becomes a reckless but intelligent young adult. Following a bar fight with Starfleet cadets accompanying Nyota Uhura, Kirk meets Captain Christopher Pike, who encourages him to enlist in Starfleet Academy, where Kirk meets and befriends doctor Leonard McCoy.

text: Three years later, Commander Spock accuses Kirk of cheating during the Kobayashi Maru simulation. Kirk argues that cheating was acceptable because the simulation was designed to be unbeatable. The disciplinary hearing is interrupted by a distress signal from Vulcan. With the primary fleet out of range, the cadets are mobilized. McCoy and Kirk board Pike's ship, the Enterprise. Realizing that the "lightning storm" observed near Vulcan is similar to the one that occurred when he was born, Kirk breaks protocol to convince Pike that the distress signal is a trap.

text: Enterprise arrives to find the fleet destroyed and Narada drilling into Vulcan's core. Narada attacks Enterprise and Pike surrenders, delegating command of the ship to Spock and promoting Kirk to first officer. Kirk, Hikaru Sulu and Chief Engineer Olson perform a space jump[5][6] onto the drilling platform. Olson is killed but Kirk and Sulu disable the drill. Despite their efforts, Nero launches "red matter" into Vulcan's core, forming an artificial black hole that destroys Vulcan. Spock rescues the high council and his father Sarek, but his mother Amanda dies.

text: As Narada moves toward Earth, Nero tortures Pike to gain access to Earth's defense codes. Spock maroons Kirk on Delta Vega after Kirk attempts mutiny. Kirk encounters an older Spock, who explains that he and Nero are from 129 years in the future. In that future, Romulus was threatened by a supernova. Spock's attempt to use "red matter" to create an artificial black hole and consume the supernova failed, and Nero's family perished along with Romulus. Narada and Spock's vessel were caught in the black hole, sending them back in time. Nero stranded Spock on Delta Vega to watch Vulcan's destruction.

text: Reaching a Starfleet outpost on Delta Vega, Kirk and the elder Spock meet Montgomery Scott. With the elder Spock's help, Kirk and Scott beam onto Enterprise. Following the elder Spock's advice, Kirk provokes younger Spock into attacking him, forcing Spock to recognize himself as emotionally compromised and relinquish command to Kirk. After talking with Sarek, Spock decides to help Kirk. While Enterprise hides itself within the gas clouds of Titan, Kirk and Spock beam aboard Narada. Kirk fights with Nero and Ayel, killing the latter and rescuing Pike, while Spock uses the elder Spock's ship to destroy the drill. Spock leads Narada away from Earth and sets his ship to collide with Nero's ship. Enterprise beams Kirk, Pike, and Spock aboard. The older Spock's ship and Narada collide, igniting the "red matter". Kirk offers Nero help to escape, but Nero refuses, prompting Kirk to give the order to fire, dooming Narada to be consumed in a black hole.

text: Kirk is promoted to Captain and given command of Enterprise while Pike is promoted to Rear Admiral. Spock encounters his older self, who persuades his younger self to continue serving in Starfleet, encouraging him to do, for once, what feels right instead of what is logical. Spock remains in Starfleet, becoming first officer under Kirk's command. Enterprise goes to warp as the elder Spock speaks the "where no one has gone before" monologue.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Chris Pine as James T. Kirk

tag: ul

text: Jimmy Bennett portrays a younger Kirk.

text: Zachary Quinto as Spock

text: Jacob Kogan portrays a younger Spock.

text: Eric Bana as Captain Nero

text: Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime: Nimoy reprises the role of the older Spock from the original Star Trek timeline, credited as "Spock Prime". He was a longtime friend of Abrams' parents,[20] but became better acquainted with Abrams during filming. Although Quinto watched some episodes of the show during breaks in filming, Nimoy was his main resource in playing Spock.[9] Abrams and the writers met Nimoy at his house; writer Roberto Orci recalled that the actor gave a "'Who are you guys and what are you up to?' vibe" before being told how important he was to them. He was silent, and Nimoy's wife Susan Bay told the creative team he had remained in his chair after their conversation, emotionally overwhelmed by his decision after turning down many opportunities to revisit the role.[21] Had Nimoy disliked the script, production would have been delayed for it to be rewritten.[22] Nimoy later said, "This is the first and only time I ever had a filmmaker say, 'We cannot make this film without you and we won't make it without you'".[23] He was "genuinely excited" by the script's scope and its detailing of the characters' backstories,[12] saying, "We have dealt with [Spock's being half-human, half-Vulcan], but never with quite the overview that this script has of the entire history of the character, the growth of the character, the beginnings of the character and the arrival of the character into the Enterprise crew."[24] Abrams commented, "It was surreal to direct him as Spock, because what the hell am I doing there? This guy has been doing it for forty years. It's like 'I think Spock would...'"[25]

text: Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura

text: Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy

text: Simon Pegg as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott

text: John Cho as Hikaru Sulu

text: Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov

text:
Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike, the captain of USS Enterprise.[7]
Ben Cross as Sarek, Spock's father.
Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother.
Clifton Collins Jr. as Ayel, Nero's first officer.

text: Chris Hemsworth plays George Kirk, James Tiberius Kirk's father, who dies aboard USS Kelvin while battling Nero. Mark Wahlberg was also approached for the role.[41] Faran Tahir plays Kelvin captain Richard Robau. Winona Kirk, Kirk's mother, is played by Jennifer Morrison. Greg Ellis plays Chief Engineer Olson, the redshirt who is killed during the space jump.[42]

text: Additional minor roles include Rachel Nichols as Gaila, an Orion Starfleet cadet; Deep Roy as Scotty's alien (Royla) assistant Keenser; and Paul McGillion as a Starfleet barracks leader.[43] Chris Doohan, the son of the original Scotty, James Doohan, makes a cameo appearance in the transporter room as Lt. Kyle.[44] Some characters had their scenes substantially or entirely cut from the film, including Brad William Henke as Kirk's stepfather (the character's lines in the film were provided by Greg Grunberg).[43][45] Spencer Daniels originally played Kirk's older brother, George Samuel "Sam" Kirk, Jr., but the majority of his scenes were cut and the opening car chase scene where Kirk can be heard calling out to him was overdubbed.[46] Victor Garber plays a Klingon interrogator who tortures Nero during his time on Rura Penthe.

text: Tyler Perry appears as the head of Starfleet Academy, Admiral Richard Barnett. James Cawley, producer and star of the web series Star Trek: New Voyages, appears as a Starfleet officer, while Pasha Lychnikoff and Lucia Rijker play Romulans, Lychnikoff a Commander and Rijker a Communications Officer. W. Morgan Sheppard, who played a Klingon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as Data's allegorical grandfather in the TNG episode "The Schizoid Man", appears in this film as the head of the Vulcan Science Council. Wil Wheaton, known for portraying Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, was brought in, through urging by Greg Grunberg, to voice several of the other Romulans in the film.[47] Star Trek fan and Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch cameoed as a Kelvin crew member, and has a line of dialogue.[48] Majel Barrett, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, reprised her role as the voice of Enterprise's computer, which she completed two weeks before her death on December 18, 2008.[49]

text: Orci and Kurtzman wrote a scene for Shatner, in which old Spock gives his younger self a recorded message by Kirk from the previous timeline. "It was basically a Happy Birthday wish knowing that Spock was going to go off to Romulus, and Kirk would probably be dead by the time," and it would have shifted into Shatner reciting "Where no man has gone before".[50] However, Shatner wanted to share Nimoy's major role, and did not want a cameo,[51] despite his character's death in Star Trek Generations. He suggested the film canonize his novels where Kirk is resurrected, but Abrams decided if his character was accompanying Nimoy's, it would have become a film about the resurrection of Kirk, and not about introducing the new versions of the characters.[52] Nimoy disliked the character's death in Generations, but also felt resurrecting Kirk would be detrimental to this film,[22] and his friendship with Shatner caused them to avoid discussing the film.[23]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: As early as the 1968 World Science Fiction Convention, Star Trek creator Roddenberry had said he was going to make a film prequel to the television series.[53] But the prequel concept did not resurface until the late 1980s, when Ralph Winter and Harve Bennett submitted a proposal for a prequel during development of the fourth film. Roddenberry rejected Bennett's prequel proposal in 1991, after the completion of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.[54] Then David Loughery wrote a script entitled The Academy Years, but it was shelved in light of objections from Roddenberry and the fanbase. The film that was commissioned instead ended up being Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In February 2005, after the financial failure of the tenth film, Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and the cancellation of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the franchise's executive producer Rick Berman and screenwriter Erik Jendresen began developing a new film entitled Star Trek: The Beginning. It was to revolve around a new set of characters, led by Kirk's ancestor Tiberius Chase, and be set during the Earth-Romulan War—after the events of Enterprise but before the events of the original series.[55]

text: In 2005, Viacom, which owned Paramount Pictures, separated from CBS Corporation, which retained Paramount's television properties, including ownership of the Star Trek brand. Gail Berman, then president of Paramount, convinced CBS' chief executive, Leslie Moonves, to allow them eighteen months to develop a new Star Trek film, otherwise Paramount would lose the film rights. Berman approached Mission: Impossible III writers Orci and Kurtzman for ideas on the new film, and after the film had completed shooting she asked their director, Abrams, to produce it.[56] Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman, plus producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, felt the franchise had explored enough of what took place after the series,[57] Orci and Lindelof consider themselves trekkies,[58] and feel some of the Star Trek novels have canonical value, although Roddenberry never considered the novels to be canon.[59] Kurtzman is a casual fan, while Burk was not.[7] Abrams' company, Bad Robot Productions produced the film with Paramount, marking the first time another company had financed a Star Trek film.[60] Bill Todman, Jr.'s Level 1 Entertainment also co-produced the film, but, during 2008, Spyglass Entertainment replaced them as financial partner.[61]

text: In an interview, Abrams said that he had never seen Star Trek: Nemesis because he felt the franchise had "disconnected" from the original series.[62] For him, he said, Star Trek was about Kirk and Spock, and the other series were like "separate space adventure[s] with the name Star Trek". He also acknowledged that as a child he had actually preferred the Star Wars movies.[63] He noted that his general knowledge of Star Trek made him well suited to introduce the franchise to newcomers,[64] and that, being an optimistic person, he would make Star Trek an optimistic film, which would be a refreshing contrast to the likes of The Dark Knight.[7] He added that he loved the focus on exploration in Star Trek and the idea of the Prime Directive, which forbids Starfleet to interfere in the development of primitive worlds, but that, because of the budgetary limitations of the original series, it had "never had the resources to actually show the adventure".[65] He noted he only became involved with the project as producer initially because he wanted to help Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof.[56]

text: On February 23, 2007, Abrams accepted Paramount's offer to direct the film, after having initially been attached to it solely as a producer.[66] He explained that he had decided to direct the film because, after reading the script, he realized that he "would be so agonizingly envious of whoever stepped in and directed the movie."[67] Orci and Kurtzman said that their aim had been to impress a casual fan like Abrams with their story.[68] Abrams noted that, during filming, he had been nervous "with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet' [but] I knew this would work, because the script Alex and Bob wrote was so emotional and so relatable. I didn't love Kirk and Spock when I began this journey – but I love them now."[7]

text: Writing[edit]

text:
"We're from different worlds, Alex [Kurtzman] was born here, and I was born in Mexico City and lived there until I was nine. Kirk and Spock are opposites from two worlds. That's us in a nutshell. We're drawn to each by what each of us lacks. The story of this film is about two guys who are such opposites that they might end up strangling each other but instead they bond and thrive together. That's us. We can go warp speed together."

Roberto Orci on the film's emotional context.[21]

tag: div

text: Orci said getting Nimoy in the film was important. "Having him sitting around a camp fire sharing his memories was never gonna cut it" though, and time travel was going to be included in the film from the beginning.[69] Kurtzman added, saying the time travel creates jeopardy, unlike other prequels where viewers "know how they all died".[70] The writers acknowledged time travel had been overused in the other series, but it served a good purpose in creating a new set of adventures for the original characters before they could completely do away with it in other films.[71] Abrams selected the Romulans as the villains because they had been featured less than the Klingons in the series, and thought it was "fun" to have them meet Kirk before they do in the series.[72] Orci and Kurtzman noted it would feel backward to demonize the Klingons again after they had become heroes in later Star Trek series, and the Romulan presence continues Spock's story from his last chronological appearance in "Unification", an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation set in 2368.[71] The episode of the original continuity in which Kirk becomes the first human to ever see a Romulan, "Balance of Terror", served as one of the influences for the film.[58] Orci said it was difficult giving a good explanation for the time travel without being gimmicky, like having Nero specifically seeking to assassinate Kirk.[73]

text: Orci noted while the time travel story allowed them to alter some backstory elements such as Kirk's first encounter with the Romulans, they could not use it as a crutch to change everything and they tried to approach the film as a prequel as much as possible. Kirk's service on Farragut, a major backstory point to the original episode "Obsession", was left out because it was deemed irrelevant to the story of Kirk meeting Spock, although Orci felt nothing in his script precluded it from the new film's backstory.[69] There was a scene involving Kirk meeting Carol Marcus (who is revealed as the mother of his son in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) as a child, but it was dropped because the film needed more time to introduce the core characters.[50][74] Figuring out ways to get the crew together required some contrivances, which Orci and Kurtzman wanted to explain from old Spock as a way of the timeline mending itself, highlighting the theme of destiny. The line was difficult to write and was ultimately cut out.[71][75]

text: The filmmakers sought inspiration from novels such as Prime Directive, Spock's World and Best Destiny to fill in gaps unexplained by canon; Best Destiny particularly explores Kirk's childhood and names his parents.[58][69][76] One idea that was justified through information from the novels was having Enterprise built on Earth, which was inspired by a piece of fan art of Enterprise being built in a shipyard. Orci had sent the fan art to Abrams to show how realistic the film could be.[77] Orci explained parts of the ship would have to be constructed on Earth because of the artificial gravity employed on the ship and its requirement for sustaining warp speed, and therefore the calibration of the ship's machinery would be best done in the exact gravity well which is to be simulated.[78] They felt free to have the ship built in Iowa because canon is ambiguous as to whether it was built in San Francisco, but this is a result of the time travel rather than something intended to overlap with the original timeline.[70] Abrams noted the continuity of the original series itself was inconsistent at times.[9]

text: Orci and Kurtzman said they wanted the general audience to like the film as much as the fans, by stripping away "Treknobabble", making it action-packed and giving it the simple title of Star Trek to indicate to newcomers they would not need to watch any of the other films.[79] Abrams saw humor and sex appeal as two integral and popular elements of the show that needed to be maintained.[64] Orci stated being realistic and being serious were not the same thing.[77] Abrams, Burk, Lindelof, Orci and Kurtzman were fans of The Wrath of Khan, and also cited The Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" as an influence.[58] Abrams' wife Katie was regularly consulted on the script, as were Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof's wives, to make the female characters as strong as possible.[80] Katie Abrams' approval of the strong female characters was partly why Abrams signed on to direct.[81]

text: Orci and Kurtzman read graduate school dissertations on the series for inspiration;[57] they noted comparisons of Kirk, Spock and McCoy to Shakespearian archetypes, and Kirk and Spock's friendship echoing that of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.[58] They also noted that, in the creation of this film, they were influenced by Star Wars, particularly in pacing. "I want to feel the space, I want to feel speed and I want to feel all the things that can become a little bit lost when Star Trek becomes very stately" said Orci.[68] Star Wars permeated in the way they wrote the action sequences,[70] while Burk noted Kirk and Spock's initially cold relationship mirrors how "Han Solo wasn't friends with anyone when they started on their journey."[82] Spock and Uhura were put in an actual relationship as a nod to early episodes highlighting her interest in him.[75] Orci wanted to introduce strong Starfleet captains, concurring with an interviewer that most captains in other films were "patsies" included to make Kirk look greater by comparison.[80]

text: USS Kelvin, the ship Kirk's father serves on, is named after J.J. Abrams' grandfather, as well as the physicist and engineer Lord Kelvin (William Thomson). Kelvin's captain, Richard Robau (Faran Tahir), is named after Orci's Cuban uncle: Orci theorized the fictional character was born in Cuba and grew up in the Middle East.[77] Another reference to Abrams' previous works is Slusho, which Uhura orders at the bar where she meets Kirk. Abrams created the fictitious drink for Alias and it reappeared in viral marketing for Cloverfield. Its owner, Tagruato, is also from Cloverfield and appears on a building in San Francisco.[43] The red matter in the film is in the shape of a red ball, an Abrams motif dating back to the pilot of Alias.[83]

text: Design[edit]

text: The film's production designer was Scott Chambliss, a longtime collaborator with Abrams. Chambliss worked with a large group of concept illustrators, including James Clyne, Ryan Church, creature designer Neville Page, and Star Trek veteran John Eaves.[84] Abrams stated the difficulty of depicting the future was that much of modern technology was inspired by the original show, and made it seem outdated. Thus the production design had to be consistent with the television series but also feel more advanced than the real world technology developed after it.[57] "We all have the iPhone that does more than the communicator," said Abrams. "I feel like there's a certain thing that you can't really hold onto, which is kind of the kitschy quality. That must go if it's going to be something that you believe is real."[85] Prop master Russell Bobbitt collaborated with Nokia on recreating the original communicator, creating a $50,000 prototype. Another prop recreated for the film was the tricorder. Bobbitt brought the original prop to the set, but the actors found it too large to carry when filming action scenes, so technical advisor Doug Brody redesigned it to be smaller.[86] The phaser props were designed as spring-triggered barrels that revolve and glow as the setting switches from "stun" to "kill".[7] An Aptera Typ-1 prototype car was used on location.[87]

text: Production designer Scott Chambliss maintained the layout of the original bridge, but aesthetically altered it with brighter colors to reflect the optimism of Star Trek. The viewscreen was made into a window that could have images projected on it to make the space environment palpable. Abrams compared the redesign to the sleek modernist work of Pierre Cardin and the sets from 2001: A Space Odyssey, which were from the 1960s.[88] He joked the redesigned bridge made the Apple Store look "uncool". At the director's behest, more railings were added to the bridge to make it look safer,[7] and the set was built on gimbals so its rocking motions when the ship accelerates and is attacked was more realistic.[88] To emphasize the size of the ship, Abrams chose to give the engine room a highly industrial appearance: he explained to Pegg that he was inspired by RMS Titanic, a sleek ship in which there was an "incredible gut".[89]

text: Abrams selected Michael Kaplan to design the costumes because he had not seen any of the films, meaning he would approach the costumes with a new angle. For the Starfleet uniforms, Kaplan followed the show's original color-coding, with dark gray (almost black) undershirts and pants and colored overshirts showing each crew member's position. Command officers wear gold shirts, science and medical officers wear blue, and operations (technicians, engineers, and security personnel) wear red. Kaplan wanted the shirts to be more sophisticated than the originals and selected to have the Starfleet symbol patterned on them.[88] Kirk wears only the undershirt because he is a cadet.[7] Kaplan modelled the uniforms on Kelvin on science fiction films of the 1940s and 1950s, to contrast with Enterprise-era uniforms based on the ones created in the 1960s.[88] For Abrams, "The costumes were a microcosm of the entire project, which was how to take something that's kind of silly and make it feel real. But how do you make legitimate those near-primary color costumes?"[90]

text: Lindelof compared the film's Romulan faction to pirates with their bald, tattooed heads and disorganized costuming. Their ship, Narada, is purely practical with visible mechanics as it is a "working ship", unlike the Enterprise crew who give a respectable presentation on behalf of the Federation.[91] Chambliss was heavily influenced by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí for Narada, who created buildings that appeared to be inside out: by making the ship's exposed wires appear like bones or ligaments, it would create a foreboding atmosphere. The ship's interior was made of six pieces that could be rearranged to create a different room.[88] The Romulan actors had three prosthetics applied to their ears and foreheads, while Bana had a fourth prosthetic for the bitemark on his ear that extends to the back of his character's head.[92] The film's Romulans lacked the 'V'-shaped ridges on the foreheads, which had been present in all of their depictions outside the original series. Neville Page wanted to honor that by having Nero's crew ritually scar themselves too, forming keloids reminiscent of the 'V'-ridges. It was abandoned as they did not pursue the idea enough.[93] Kaplan wanted aged, worn and rugged clothes for the Romulans because of their mining backgrounds, and found some greasy looking fabrics at a flea market. Kaplan tracked down the makers of those clothes, who were discovered to be based in Bali, and commissioned them to create his designs.[7]

text: Barney Burman supervised the makeup for the other aliens: his team had to rush the creation of many of the aliens, because originally the majority of them were to feature in one scene towards the end of filming. Abrams deemed the scene too similar to the cantina sequence in Star Wars and decided to dot the designs around the film.[92] A tribble was placed in the background of Scotty's introduction.[43] Both digital and physical makeup was used for aliens.[94]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography for the film began on November 7, 2007 and culminated on March 27, 2008;[95] however second unit filming occurred in Bakersfield, California in April 2008, which stood in for Kirk's childhood home in Iowa.[96] Filming was also done at the City Hall of Long Beach, California;[97] the San Rafael Swell in Utah;[98] and the California State University, Northridge in Los Angeles (which was used for establishing shots of students at Starfleet Academy).[99] A parking lot outside Dodger Stadium was used for the ice planet of Delta Vega and the Romulan drilling rig on Vulcan. The filmmakers expressed an interest in Iceland for scenes on Delta Vega, but decided against it: Chambliss enjoyed the challenge of filming scenes with snow in southern California. Other Vulcan exteriors were shot at Vasquez Rocks, a location that was used in various episodes of the original series. A Budweiser plant in Van Nuys was used for Enterprise's engine room, while a Long Beach power plant was used for Kelvin's engine room.[88]

text: Following the initiation of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike on November 5, 2007, Abrams, himself a WGA member, told Variety that while he would not render writing services for the film and intended to walk the picket line, he did not expect the strike to impact his directing of the production.[100] In the final few weeks before the strike and start of production, Abrams and Lindelof polished the script for a final time.[101] Abrams was frustrated that he was unable to alter lines during the strike, whereas normally they would have been able to improvise new ideas during rehearsal, although Lindelof acknowledged they could dub some lines in post-production.[102] Orci and Kurtzman were able to stay on set without strikebreaking because they were also executive producers on the film; they could "make funny eyes and faces at the actors whenever they had a problem with the line and sort of nod when they had something better".[103] Abrams was able to alter a scene where Spock combats six Romulans from a fistfight to a gunfight, having decided there were too many physical brawls in the film.[13]

text: The production team maintained heavily enforced security around the film. Karl Urban revealed, "[There is a] level of security and secrecy that we have all been forced to adopt. I mean, it's really kind of paranoid crazy, but sort of justified. We're not allowed to walk around in public in our costumes and we have to be herded around everywhere in these golf carts that are completely concealed and covered in black canvas. The security of it is immense. You feel your freedom is a big challenge."[104] Actors like Jennifer Morrison were only given the scripts of their scenes.[105] The film's shooting script was fiercely protected even with the main cast. Simon Pegg said, "I read [the script] with a security guard near me – it's that secretive."[106] The film used the fake working title of Corporate Headquarters.[107] Some of the few outside of the production allowed to visit the set included Rod Roddenberry,[108] Ronald D. Moore,[109] Jonathan Frakes, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg (who had partially convinced Abrams to direct because he liked the script, and he even advised the action scenes during his visit).[81]

text: When the shoot ended, Abrams gave the cast small boxes containing little telescopes, which allowed them to read the name of each constellation it was pointed at. "I think he just wanted each of us to look at the stars a little differently," said John Cho. After the shoot, Abrams cut out some scenes of Kirk and Spock as children, including seeing the latter as a baby, as well as a subplot involving Nero being imprisoned by the Klingons and his escape: this explanation for his absence during Kirk's life confused many to whom Abrams screened the film.[65] Other scenes cut out explained that the teenage Kirk stole his stepfather's antique car because he had forced him to clean it before an auction; and that the Orion he seduced at the Academy worked in the operations division. Afterwards, she agrees to open the e-mail containing his patch that allows him to pass the Kobayashi Maru test.[75]

text: Abrams chose to shoot the film in the anamorphic format on 35 mm film after discussions about whether the film should be shot in high-definition digital video. Cinematographer Dan Mindel and Abrams agreed the choice gave the film a big-screen feel and the realistic, organic look they wanted for the film setting.[110] Abrams and Mindel used lens flares throughout filming to create an optimistic atmosphere and a feeling that activity was taking place off-camera, making the Star Trek universe feel more real. "There's something about those flares, especially in a movie that potentially could be incredibly sterile and CG and overly controlled. There's just something incredibly unpredictable and gorgeous about them." Mindel would create more flares by shining a flashlight or pointing a mirror at the camera lens, or using two cameras simultaneously and therefore two lighting set-ups.[110] Editor Mary Jo Markey later said in interview that he had not told her (or fellow editor Maryann Brandon) this, and initially contacted the film developers asking why the film seemed overexposed.[111]

text: Effects[edit]

text: Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain were among several companies that created over 1,000 special effect shots.[112] The visual effects supervisors were Roger Guyett, who collaborated with Abrams on Mission: Impossible III and also served as second unit director, and Russell Earl. Abrams avoided shooting only against bluescreen and greenscreen, because it "makes me insane", using them instead to extend the scale of sets and locations.[57] The Delta Vega sequence required the mixing of digital snow with real snow.[113]

text: Star Trek was the first film ILM worked on using entirely digital ships.[113] Enterprise was intended by Abrams to be a merging of its design in the series and the refitted version from the original film. Abrams had fond memories of the revelation of Enterprise's refit in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, because it was the first time the ship felt tangible and real to him.[114] The iridescent pattern on the ship from The Motion Picture was maintained to give the ship depth, while model maker Roger Goodson also applied the "Aztec" pattern from The Next Generation. Goodson recalled Abrams also wanted to bring a "hot rod" aesthetic to the ship. Effects supervisor Roger Guyett wanted the ship to have more moving parts, which stemmed from his childhood dissatisfaction with the ship's design: The new Enterprise's dish can expand and move, while the fins on its engines split slightly when they begin warping.[115] Enterprise was originally redesigned by Ryan Church using features of the original, at 1,200 feet (370 m) long,[116] but was doubled in size to 2,357 feet (718 m) long to make it seem "grander",[116] while the Romulan Narada is five miles long and several miles wide.[88] The filmmakers had to simulate lens flares on the ships in keeping with the film's cinematography.[113]

text: Carolyn Porco of NASA was consulted on the planetary science and imagery.[117] The animators realistically recreated what an explosion would look like in space: short blasts, which suck inward and leave debris from a ship floating. For shots of an imploding planet, the same explosion program was used to simulate it breaking up, while the animators could manually composite multiple layers of rocks and wind sucking into the planet.[113] Unlike other Star Trek films and series, the transporter beam effects swirl rather than speckle.[39] Abrams conceived the redesign to emphasize the notion of transporters as beams that can pick up and move people, rather than a signal composed of scrambled atoms.[112]

text: Lola Visual Effects worked on 48 shots, including some animation to Bana and Nimoy. Bana required extensive damage to his teeth, which was significant enough to completely replace his mouth in some shots. Nimoy's mouth was reanimated in his first scene with Kirk following a rerecording session. The filmmakers had filmed Nimoy when he rerecorded his lines so they could rotoscope his mouth into the film, even recreating the lighting conditions, but they realized they had to digitally recreate his lips because of the bouncing light created by the camp fire.[112]

text: Music[edit]

text: Michael Giacchino, Abrams' most frequent collaborator, composed the music for Star Trek. He kept the original theme by Alexander Courage for the end credits, which Abrams said symbolized the momentum of the crew coming together.[118] Giacchino admitted personal pressure in scoring the film, as "I grew up listening to all of that great [Trek] music, and that's part of what inspired me to do what I'm doing [...] You just go in scared. You just hope you do your best. It's one of those things where the film will tell me what to do."[119] Scoring took place at the Sony Scoring Stage with a 107-piece orchestra and 40-person choir. An erhu, performed by Karen Han, was used for the Vulcan themes. A distorted recording was used for the Romulans.[118] Varèse Sarabande, the record label responsible for releasing albums of Giacchino's previous scores for Alias, Lost, Mission: Impossible III, and Speed Racer, released the soundtrack for the film on May 5.[120] The music for the theatrical trailers were composed by Two Steps from Hell.[121]

text: Sound effects[edit]

text: The sound effects were designed by Star Wars veteran Ben Burtt. Whereas the phaser blast noises from the television series were derived from The War of the Worlds (1953), Burtt made his phaser sounds more like his blasters from Star Wars, because Abrams' depiction of phasers were closer to the blasters' bullet-like fire, rather than the steady beams of energy in previous Star Trek films. Burtt reproduced the classic photon torpedo and warp drive sounds: he tapped a long spring against a contact microphone, and combined that with cannon fire. Burtt used a 1960s oscillator to create a musical and emotional hum to the warping and transporting sounds.[122]

text: Release[edit]

text: In February 2008, Paramount announced they would move Star Trek from its December 25, 2008 release date to May 8, 2009, as the studio felt more people would see the film during summer than winter. The film was practically finished by the end of 2008.[123] Paramount's decision came about after visiting the set and watching dailies, as they realized the film could appeal to a much broader audience. Even though the filmmakers liked the Christmas release date, Damon Lindelof acknowledged it would allow more time to perfect the visual effects.[102] The months-long gap between the completion of the production and release meant Alan Dean Foster was allowed to watch the whole film before writing the novelization, although the novel would contain scenes absent from the final edit.[124] Quinto narrated the audiobook.[125]

text: A surprise public screening was held on April 6, 2009, at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas, hosted by writers Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and producer Damon Lindelof. The showing was publicized as a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, followed by a ten-minute preview of the new Star Trek film. A few minutes into Khan, the film appeared to melt and Nimoy appeared on stage with Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof, asking the audience, "wouldn't you rather see the new movie?"[126] Following the surprise screening in Texas, the first of many premieres across the world was held at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on April 7, 2009.[127] For almost two years, the town of Vulcan, Alberta had campaigned to have the film premiere there, but because it had no theater, Paramount arranged instead a lottery where 300 winning residents would be taken to a prerelease screening in Calgary.[128]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The first teaser trailer debuted in theaters with Cloverfield on January 18, 2008, which showed Enterprise under construction. Abrams himself directed the first part of the trailer, where a welder removes his goggles. Professional welders were hired for the teaser.[129] The voices of the 1960s played over the trailer were intended to link the film to the present day; John F. Kennedy in particular was chosen because of similarities with the character of James T. Kirk and because he is seen to have "kicked off" the Space Race. Orci explained that: "If we do indeed have a Federation, I think Kennedy’s words will be inscribed in there someplace."[78] Star Trek's later trailers would win four awards, including Best in Show, in the tenth annual Golden Trailer Awards.[130]

text: Paramount faced two obstacles in promoting the film: the unfamiliarity of the "MySpace generation" with the franchise and the relatively weak international performance of the previous films. Six months before the film's release, Abrams toured Europe and North America with 25 minutes of footage. Abrams noted the large-scale campaign started unusually early, but this was because the release delay allowed him to show more completed scenes than normal. The director preferred promoting his projects quietly, but concurred Paramount needed to remove Star Trek's stigma.[131] Abrams would exaggerate his preference for other shows to Star Trek as a child to the press, with statements like "I'm not a Star Trek fan" and "this movie is not made for Star Trek fans necessarily". Orci compared Abrams' approach to The Next Generation episode "A Matter of Honor", where William Riker is stationed aboard a Klingon vessel. "On that ship when someone talks back to you, you would have to beat them down or you lose the respect of your crew, which is protocol, whereas on a Federation ship that would be a crime. So we have to give [J. J. Abrams] a little bit of leeway, when he is traveling the 'galaxy' over there where they don't know Trek, to say the things that need to be said in order to get people onto our side."[77]

text: Promotional partners on the film include Nokia, Verizon Wireless, Esurance, Kellogg's, Burger King and Intel Corporation, as well as various companies specializing in home decorating, apparel, jewelry, gift items and "Tiberius", "Pon Farr" and "Red Shirt" fragrances.[132][133] Playmates Toys, who owned the Star Trek toy license until 2000, also held the merchandise rights for the new film.[134] The first wave was released in March and April 2009. Playmates hope to continue their toy line into 2010.[135][needs update] The first wave consists of 3.75", 6" and 12" action figures, an Enterprise replica, prop toys and play sets. to recreate the whole bridge, one would have to buy more 3.75" figures, which come with chairs and consoles to add to the main set consisting of Kirk's chair, the floor, the main console and the viewscreen.[136] Master Replicas,[137] Mattel, Hasbro and Fundex Games will promote the film[needs update] via playing cards, Monopoly, UNO, Scrabble, Magic 8-Ball, Hot Wheels, Tyco R/C, 20Q, Scene It? and Barbie lines. Some of these are based on previous Star Trek iterations rather than the film.[133][138] CBS also created a merchandising line based around Star Trek caricatures named "Quogs".[139]

text: Home release[edit]

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 19, 2010 in North America,[140] November 16 in the United Kingdom[141] and October 26 in Australia and New Zealand. In Sweden and Germany, it was released on November 4.[142] First week sales stood at 5.7 million DVDs along with 1.1 million Blu-ray Discs,[143] giving Paramount Pictures their third chart topping release in five weeks following Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.[144]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Official screenings in the United States started at 7 pm on May 7, 2009,[145] grossing $4 million on its opening day. By the end of the weekend, Star Trek had opened with $79,204,300, as well as $35,500,000 from other countries. Adjusted and unadjusted for inflation, it beat Star Trek: First Contact for the largest American opening for a Star Trek film. The film made US$8.5 million from its IMAX screenings, breaking The Dark Knight's $6.3 million IMAX opening record.[146] The film is the highest-grossing in the United States and Canada from the entire Star Trek film franchise, eclipsing The Voyage Home and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Its opening weekend numbers alone outgross the entire individual runs of The Undiscovered Country, The Final Frontier, Insurrection and Nemesis.[147] Star Trek ended its United States theatrical run on October 1, 2009, with a box office total of $257,730,019, which places it as the seventh highest-grossing film for 2009 behind The Hangover.[2] The film grossed $127,764,536 in international markets,[148] for a total worldwide gross of $385,494,555.[149] While foreign grosses represent only 31% of the total box office receipts, executives of Paramount were happy with the international sales, as Star Trek historically was a movie franchise that never has been a big draw overseas.[150]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Star Trek was acclaimed by film critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it received 95% approval with an average rating of 8.2/10 (the highest scored Star Trek film), based on 333 reviews, with the consensus: "Star Trek reignites a classic franchise with action, humor, a strong story, and brilliant visuals, and will please traditional Trekkies and new fans alike."[151] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score, gave the film an 83 out of 100 based on 37 reviews from critics.[152][153]

text:
The editing, cinematography, and special effects work are state-of-the-art, as you'd expect – extra praise goes to an astonishingly detailed sound mix – but so are the same aspects of Wolverine, and that film's a joyless bore by comparison. What lifts the Abrams film into the ether is the rightness of its casting and playing, from Saldana's Uhura, finally a major character after all these years, to Urban's loyal, dyspeptic McCoy, to Simon Pegg's grandly comic Scotty, the movie's most radical reimagining of a Star Trek regular.

—Ty Burr of the Boston Globe[154]

text: Ty Burr of the Boston Globe gave the film a perfect four star rating, describing it as "ridiculously satisfying", and the "best prequel ever".[154] Burr praised the character development in the film, opining that "emotionally, Star Trek hits every one of its marks, functioning as a family reunion that extends across decades, entertainment mediums, even blurring the line between audience and show."[154] He continued: "Trading on affections sustained over 40 years of popular culture, Star Trek does what a franchise reboot rarely does. It reminds us why we loved these characters in the first place."[154] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave the film an 'A-' grade, commenting that director Abrams "crafts an origin story that avoids any hint of the origin doldrums."[155] Similar sentiments were expressed by Rolling Stone journalist Peter Travers, who gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 stars. He felt that the acting from the cast was the highlight of the filming, asserting that the performance of Pine radiated star quality.[156] Likewise, Travers called Quinto's performance "sharp" and "intuitive", and felt that Quinto "gave the film a soul".[156] Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote, "Star Trek [...] isn’t just a pleasurable rethink of your geek uncle's favorite science-fiction series. It's also a testament to television's power as mythmaker, as a source for some of the fundamental stories we tell about ourselves, who we are and where we came from.[157] Slate's Dana Stevens felt that the film was "a gift to those of us who loved the original series, that brainy, wonky, idealistic body of work that aired to almost no commercial success between 1966–69 and has since become a science fiction archetype and object of cult adoration."[158] Time Out London's Tom Huddleston praised the aesthetic qualities of the film, such as the design of Enterprise, and praised the performances of the cast.[159] He wrote, "The cast are equally strong: Quinto brings wry charm to an otherwise calculating character, while Pine powers through his performance in bullish, if not quite Shatner-esque fashion."[159]

text: The chemistry between Pine and Quinto was well received by critics. Gleiberman felt that as the film progressed to the conclusion, Pine and Quinto emulated the same connection as Kirk and Spock.[155] Tim Robey of The Telegraph echoed similar attitudes; "The movie charts their relationship [...] in a nicely oblique way." Robey resumed: "It's the main event, dramatically speaking, but there's always something more thumpingly urgent to command their attention, whether it's a Vulcan distress signal or the continuing rampages of those pesky Romulans."[160] Burr opined that Abrams had an accurate understanding of the relationship between Kirk and Spock, and wrote, "Pine makes a fine, brash boy Kirk, but Quinto's Spock is something special – an eerily calm figure freighted with a heavier sadness than Roddenberry's original. The two ground each other and point toward all the stories yet to come."[154] Similarly, The Guardian writer Peter Bradshaw expressed: "The story of Kirk and Spock is brought thrillingly back to life by a new first generation: Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, who give inspired, utterly unselfconscious and lovable performances, with power, passion and some cracking comic timing."[161]

text: Some film critics were polarized with Star Trek. Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club gave the film a 'B+' grade, and asserted that it was "a reconsideration of what constitutes Star Trek, one that deemphasizes heady concepts and plainly stated humanist virtues in favor of breathless action punctuated by bursts of emotion. It might not even be immediately recognizable to veteran fans."[162] In concurrence, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated that "the Gene Roddenberry years, when stories might play with questions of science, ideals or philosophy, have been replaced by stories reduced to loud and colorful action." Ebert ultimately gave it a 2.5 out of 4 stars.[163] Similarly, Marc Bain of Newsweek opined: "The latest film version of Star Trek [...] is more brawn than brain, and it largely jettisons complicated ethical conundrums in favor of action sequences and special effects.[164] Slate journalist Juliet Lapidos argued that the new film, with its "standard Hollywood torture scene", failed to live up to the intellectual standard set by the 1992 Next Generation episode "Chain of Command", whose treatment of the issue she found both more sophisticated and pertinent to the ongoing debate over the United States' use of enhanced interrogation techniques.[165]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The film garnered numerous accolades after its release. In 2010, it was nominated for four Academy Awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup. Star Trek won in the category for Best Makeup, making it the first Star Trek film to receive an Academy Award.[166] The film was nominated for three Empire Awards, to which it won for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy.[167] In October 2009, Star Trek won the Hollywood Award for Best Movie,[168] and attained six Scream Awards and the 2009 Scream Awards Ceremony.[169] The film attained a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[170]

text: Star Trek received several nominations. The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, but was beaten out by Up, also composed by Michael Giacchino.[171][172] At the 36th People's Choice Awards, the film received four nominations: the film was a contender for Favorite Movie, Zoe Saldana was nominated for Favorite Breakout Movie Actress, and both Pine and Quinto were nominated for Favorite Breakout Movie Actor.[173] On June 15, 2009, the film was nominated for five Teen Choice Awards.[174] In addition, Star Trek was nominated for five Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and was named one of the top-ten films of 2009 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.[175][176]

text: Sequels[edit]

text: The film's major cast members signed on for two sequels as part of their original deals.[177] Abrams and Bryan Burk signed to produce and Abrams signed to direct the first sequel.[178][179] The sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness,[180] starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan Noonien Singh, was released on May 16, 2013.[181]

text: A third film, Star Trek Beyond, directed by Justin Lin and starring Idris Elba as the main antagonist,[182] was released on July 22, 2016, to positive reviews. In July 2016, Abrams confirmed plans for a fourth film, and stated that Chris Hemsworth would return as Kirk's father. Most of the cast and producers of Beyond have also agreed to return; however, Abrams stated Anton Yelchin's role would not be recast following his death.


document_title: The world's 100 most threatened species

question_text: what is the most threatened animal in the world

text: The world's 100 most threatened species

text: Species list[edit]

text:
The world's 100 most threatened species[3]

Species
Common name
Type
Image
Location(s)
Estimated population
Threats

Abies beshanzuensis
Baishan fir
Plant (flower)

Baishanzu Mountain, Zhejiang, China
Five mature individuals

agriculture
fire

Actinote zikani

Insect (butterfly)

Near São Paulo, Atlantic forest, Brazil
Unknown

habitat loss from human expansion

Aipysurus foliosquama
Leaf scaled sea-snake
Reptile

Ashmore Reef and Hibernia Reef, Timor Sea
Unknown

unknown—probably degradation of coral reef habitat

Amanipodagrion gilliesi
Amani flatwing
Insect (damselfly)

Amani-Sigi Forest, Usamabara Mountains, Tanzania
< 500 individuals

population pressure and water pollution

Anisolabis seychellensis

Insect

Morne Blanc, Mahé island, Seychelles
Unknown

invasive species
climate change

Antilophia bokermanni
Araripe manakin
Bird

Chapado do Araripe, South Ceará, Brazil
779 individuals

recreational facilities
water diversion

Aphanius transgrediens
Aci Göl toothcarp
Fish

south-eastern shore of former Lake Aci, Turkey
few hundred pairs

competition and predation by Gambusia
road construction

Aproteles bulmerae
Bulmer’s fruit bat
Mammal

Luplupwintern Cave, Western Province, Papua New Guinea
150

hunting
cave disturbance

Ardea insignis
White bellied heron
Bird

Bhutan, North East India and Myanmar
70–400 individuals

hydropower development

Ardeotis nigriceps
Great Indian bustard
Bird

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya, India
50–249 mature individuals

agricultural development

Astrochelys yniphora
Ploughshare tortoise
Reptile

Baly Bay region, northwestern Madagascar
440–770

illegal collection for international pet trade

Atelopus balios
Rio Pescado stubfoot toad
Amphibian

Azuay, Cañar and Guyas provinces, south-western Ecuador
Unknown

Chytridiomycosis
logging
agricultural expansion

Aythya innotata
Madagascar pochard
Bird

volcanic lakes north of Bealanana, Madagascar
80 mature individuals

agriculture
hunting and fishing
introduced fish

Azurina eupalama
Galapagos damsel fish
Fish

Unknown
Unknown

climate change
oceanographic changes related to the 1982/1983 El Nino

Bahaba taipingensis
Giant yellow croaker
Fish

Chinese coast from Yangtze River, China to Hong Kong
Unknown

over-fishing due to value of swim-bladder in traditional medicine

Batagur baska
Common batagur
Reptile (turtle)

Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia
Unknown

illegal export China

Bazzania bhutanica

Plant

Budini and Lafeti Khola, Bhutan
2 sub-populations

forest clearance
overgrazing
development

Beatragus hunteri
Hirola
Mammal (antelope)

South-east Kenya and possibly south-west Somalia
< 1,000 individuals

habitat loss
competition with livestock
poaching

Bombus franklini
Franklin’s bumblebee
Insect (bee)

Oregon and California
Unknown

disease from commercial bumblebees
habitat destruction and degradation

Brachyteles hypoxanthus
Northern muriqui
Woolly spider monkey
Mammal (primate)

Atlantic forest, south-eastern Brazil
< 1,000

large-scale deforestation and logging

Bradypus pygmaeus
Pygmy three-toed sloth
Mammal

Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama
< 500

illegal logging of mangrove forests for firewood and construction
hunting

Callitriche pulchra

Plant (freshwater)

pool on Gavdos, Greece
Unknown

habitat exploitation by livestock
modification of the pool by locals

Calumma tarzan
Tarzan’s chameleon
Reptile

Anosibe An’Ala region, eastern Madagascar
< 100

agriculture

Cavia intermedia
Santa Catarina’s guinea pig
Mammal (rodent)

Moleques do Sul Island, Santa Catarina, Brazil
40–60

habitat disturbance
possible hunting
result of having such a small population

Cercopithecus roloway
Roloway guenon
Mammal (primate)

Côte d'Ivoire
Unknown

hunting
habitat loss

Coleura seychellensis
Seychelles sheath-tailed bat
Mammal (bat)

Two small caves on Silhouette and Mahé, Seychelles
< 100

habitat degradation
predation by invasive species

Cryptomyces maximus
Willow blister
Fungi

Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom
Unknown

limited habitat

Cryptotis nelsoni
Nelson’s small-eared shrew
Mammal (shrew)

Volcán San Martín Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico
Unknown

logging
cattle grazing
fire
agriculture

Cyclura collei
Jamaican iguana
Jamaican rock iguana
Reptile

Hellshire Hills, Jamaica
Unknown

habitat destruction
predation by introduced species

Daubentonia Madagascariensis
Aye-aye
Mammal (primate)

Deciduous forest, East Madagascar
Unknown

poaching

limited habitat

Dendrophylax fawcettii
Cayman Islands ghost orchid
Plant (orchid)

Ironwood Forest, George Town, Grand Cayman
Unknown

infrastructure development

Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
Sumatran rhino
Mammal (rhino)

Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra, Indonesia
< 100

hunting (horn is used in traditional medicine)

Diomedea amsterdamensis
Amsterdam albatross
Bird

Breeds on Plateuau des Tourbières, Amsterdam Island, Indian Ocean.
100 mature individuals

disease
incidental by-catch in long-line fishing

Dioscorea strydomiana
Wild yam
Plant

Oshoek area, Mpumalanga, South Africa
200

collection for medicinal use

Diospyros katendei

Plant (tree)

Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve, Uganda
20 individuals in a single population

agricultural activity
illegal tree felling
alluvial gold digging
small population

Dipterocarpus lamellatus

Plant (tree)

Siangau Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia
12 individuals

logging of lowland forest
creation of industrial plantations

Discoglossus nigriventer
Hula painted frog
Amphibian

Hula Valley, Israel
Unknown

predation by birds
range restriction due to habitat destruction

Dombeya mauritiana

Plant

Mauritius
Unknown

encroachment by invasive plant species
habitat loss due to cannabis cultivation

Elaeocarpus bojeri
Bois Dentelle
Plant (tree)

Grand Bassin, Mauritius
< 10 individuals

habitat degradation

Eleutherodactylus glandulifer
La Hotte glanded frog
Amphibian

Massif de la Hotte, Haiti
Unknown

charcoal production
slash-and-burn agriculture

Eleutherodactylus thorcetes
Macaya breast-spot frog
Amphibian

Formon and Macaya peaks, Masif de la Hotte, Haiti
Unknown

charcoal production
slash-and-burn agriculture

Eriosyce chilensis
Chilenito (cactus)
Plant

Pta Molles and Pichidungui, Chile
< 500 individuals

collection of flowering plants

Erythrina schliebenii
Coral tree
Plant

Namatimbili-Ngarama Forest, Tanzania
< 50 individuals

limited habitat and small population size increase vulnerability

Euphorbia tanaensis

Plant (tree)

Witu Forest Reserve, Kenya
4 mature individuals

illegal logging
agricultural expansion
infrastructure development

Eurynorhyncus pygmeus
Spoon-billed sandpiper
Bird

Breeds in Russia, migrates along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to wintering grounds in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar
100 breeding pairs

trapping
land reclamation

Ficus katendei

Plant

Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve, Ishasha River, Uganda
< 50 mature individuals

agriculture
illegal tree felling
alluvial gold digging

Geronticus eremita
Northern bald ibis
Bird

Breeds in Morocco, Turkey and Syria. Syrian population winters in
central Ethiopia.

200–249 mature individuals

habitat degradation and destruction
hunting

Gigasiphon macrosiphon

Plant (flower)

Kaya Muhaka, Gongoni and Mrima Forest Reserves, Kenya, Amani Nature Reserve, West Kilombero Scarp Forest Reserve, and Kihansi Gorge, Tanzania
33

timber extraction
agriculture encroachment and development
predation by wild pigs

Gocea ohridana

Mollusc

Lake Ohrid, Macedonia
Unknown

increasing pollution levels
off-take of water
sedimentation events

Heleophryne rosei
Table mountain ghost frog
Amphibian

Table Mountain, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Unknown

invasive plants
water abstraction

Hemicycla paeteliana

Mollusc (land snail)

Jandia peninsula, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
Unknown

overgrazing
trampling by goats and tourists

Heteromirafa sidamoensis
Liben lark
Bird

Liben Plains, southern Ethiopia
90–256

agricultural expansion
overgrazing
fire suppression

Hibiscadelphus woodii

Plant (tree)

Kalalau Valley, Hawaii
Unknown

habitat degradation due to feral ungulates
competition with invasive plant species

Hucho perryi
Sakhalin taimen
Fish

Russian and Japanese rivers, Pacific Ocean between Russia and Japan
Unknown

overfishing
damming
agriculture
other land use

Johora singaporensis
Singapore freshwater crab
Crustacean

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and streamlet near Bukit Batok, Singapore
Unknown

habitat degradation due to reduction in water quality and quantity

Lathyrus belinensis
Belin vetchling
Plant

Outskirts of Belin village, Antalya, Turkey
< 1,000

urbanisation
over-grazing
conifer planting
road widening

Leiopelma archeyi
Archey’s frog
Amphibian

Coromandel peninsula and Whareorino Forest, New Zealand
Unknown

Chytridiomycosis
predation by invasive species

Lithobates sevosus
Dusky gopher frog
Amphibian

Harrison County, Mississippi, USA
60–100

fungal disease
climate change
land-use changes

Lophura edwardsi
Edwards’s pheasant
Bird

Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, Viet Nam
Unknown

habitat loss
hunting

Magnolia wolfii

Plant (tree)

Risaralda, Colombia
3

isolation of species
low regeneration rates

Margaritifera marocana

Mollusc

Oued Denna, Oued Abid and Oued Beth, Morocco
< 250

pollution
development

Moominia willii

Mollusc (snail)

Silhouette Island, Seychelles
< 500

invasive species
climate change

Natalus primus
Cuban greater funnel eared bat
Mammal (bat)

Cueva La Barca, Isle of Pines, Cuba
< 100

habitat loss
human disturbance

Nepenthes attenboroughii
Attenborough’s pitcher plant
Plant

Mount Victoria, Palawan, Philippines
Unknown

poaching

Nomascus hainanus
Hainan black crested gibbon
Mammal (primate)

Hainan Island, China
20

hunting

Neurergus kaiseri
Luristan newt
Amphibian

Zagros Mountains, Lorestan, Iran
< 1,000

illegal collection for pet trade

Oreocnemis phoenix
Mulanje red damsel
Insect (damselfly)

Mulanje Plateau, Malawi
Unknown

habitat destruction and degradation due to drainage
agricultural expansion
exploitation of forest

Pangasius sanitwongsei
Pangasid catfish
Fish

Chao Phraya and Mekong basins in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam
Unknown

overfishing
collection for aquarium trade

Parides burchellanus

Insect (butterfly)

Cerrado, Brazil
< 100

human expansion
limited range

Phocoena sinus
Vaquita
Mammal (porpoise)

Northern Gulf of California, Mexico
< 200

capture in fishermen's gillnets

Picea neoveitchii
Type of spruce tree
Plant (tree)

Qinling Range, China
Unknown

destruction of forest

Pinus squamata
Qiaojia pine
Plant (tree)

Qiaojia, Yunnan, China
< 25

limited distribution
small population size

Poecilotheria metallica
Gooty tarantula
Metallic tarantula
Peacock tarantula
Salepurgu
Spider

Nandyal and Giddalur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Unknown

deforestation
firewood collection
civil unrest

Pomarea whitneyi
Fatuhiva monarch
Bird

Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia
50

predation by introduced species - Rattus rattus and feral cats

Pristis pristis
Common sawfish
Fish

Coastal tropical and subtropical waters of Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Currently largely restricted to northern Australia
Unknown

exploitation has removed the species from 95 per cent of its historical range

Prolemur simus
Greater bamboo lemur
Mammal (primate)

Southeastern and southcentral rainforests of Madagascar
500

agriculture
mining
illegal logging

Propithecus candidus
Silky sifaka
Mammal (primate)

Maroantsetra to Andapa basin, and Marojeju Massif, Madagascar
100–1,000

hunting
habitat disturbance

Psammobates geometricus
Geometric tortoise
Reptile

Western Cape Province, South Africa
Unknown

loss of habitat destruction
predation

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis
Saola
Mammal

Annamite mountains, on the Viet Nam - PDR Laos border
Unknown

habitat destruction
hunting

Psiadia cataractae

Plant

Mauritius
Unknown

development project
competition from invasive plant species

Psorodonotus ebneri
Beydaglari bush-cricket
Insect

Beydaglari range, Antalaya, Turkey
Unknown

climate change
habitat loss

Rafetus swinhoei
Red River giant softshell turtle
Reptile

Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Mo Lake, Viet Nam, and Suzhou Zoo, China
4

hunting for consumption
wetland destruction
pollution

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Javan rhino
Mammal (rhino)

Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia
< 100

hunting for traditional medicine
small population size

Rhinopithecus avunculus
Tonkin snub-nosed monkey
Mammal (primate)

Northeastern Vietnam
< 200

habitat loss
hunting

Rhizanthella gardneri
West Australian underground orchid
Plant (orchid)

Western Australia, Australia
< 100

land clearance for agriculture
climate change
salinisation

Rhynchocyon spp.
Boni giant sengi
Mammal (shrew)

Boni-Dodori Forest, Lamu area, Kenya
Unknown

development causing habitat loss

Risiocnemis seidenschwarzi
Cebu frill-wing
Insect (damselfly)

Rivulet beside the Kawasan River, Cebu, Philippines
Unknown

habitat degradation and destruction

Rosa arabica

Plant

St Katherine Mountains, Egypt
Unknown, 10 sub-populations

domestic animal grazing
climate change and drought
medicinal plant collecting
limited range

Salanoia durrelli
Durrell’s vontsira
Mammal (mongoose)

Marshes of Lake Alaotra, Madagascar
Unknown

loss of habitat

Santamartamys rufodorsalis
Red crested tree rat
Mammal (rodent)

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
Unknown

urban development
coffee cultivation

Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis
Red-finned blue-eye
Fish

Edgbaston Station, central western Queensland, Australia
2,000–4,000

predation by introduced species

Squatina squatina
Angel shark
Fish

Canary Islands
Unknown

benthic trawling

Sterna bernsteini
Chinese crested tern
Bird

Breeding in Zhejiang and Fujian, China. Outside breeding season in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand.
< 50

habitat destruction
egg collection

Syngnathus watermeyeri
Estuarine pipefish
Fish

Kariega Estuary to East Kleinemonde Estuary, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Unknown

dam construction is altering river flows
flood events into estuaries

Tahina spectabilis
Suicide palm
Dimaka
Plant

Analalava district, north-western Madagascar
90

fires
logging
agricultural developments

Telmatobufo bullocki
Bullock’s false toad
Amphibian (frog)

Nahuelbuta, Arauco Province, Chile
Unknown

construction of hydro-electricity

Tokudaia muenninki
Okinawa spiny rat
Mammal (rodent)

Okinawa Island, Japan
Unknown

habitat loss
predation by feral cats

Trigonostigma somphongsi
Somphongs’s rasbora
Fish

Mae Khlong basin, Thailand
Unknown

farmland conversion and urbanization

Valencia letourneuxi

Fish

Southern Albania and Western Greece
Unknown

habitat destruction
water abstraction
aggressive interaction with Gambusia

Voanioala gerardii
Forest coconut
Plant

Masoala peninsula, Madagascar
< 10

deforestation
harvesting for consumption of palm heart

Zaglossus attenboroughi
Attenborough’s echidna
Mammal

Cyclops Mountains, Papua Province, Indonesia
Unknown

habitat modification and degradation
logging
agricultural encroachment shifting cultivation and hunting by local people

tag: table