Other Answers (14)

• Mermaid:A Family of Short Interspersed Repetitive Elements Widespread in Vertebrates
  
  Nobuyoshi Shimodaa, Mario Chevretteb, Marc Ekkerc, Yutaka Kikuchid, a, Yoshiki Hottae, a and Hitoshi Okamoto d, a, 1
  
  a Division of Cellular Communication, National Institute for Basic Biology, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji-cho, Okazaki, Aichi, 444, Japan
  
  b Department of Surgery, Urology Division, McGill University and Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, 1650 Avenue Cedar, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1A4
  
  c Loeb Institute for Medical Research, Ottawa Civic Hospital, University of Ottawa, 725 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 4E9
  
  e Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113, Japan
  
  d Department of Physiology, Keio University, School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 160, Japan
  
  Received 1 February 1996.
  Available online 22 April 2002.
  
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  Abstract
  
  We have discovered a family of short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) that are present in the genomes of fish, amphibian and primates. The family of the SINEs, designatedmermaid,is distinctive in each species except for a conserved region of approximately 80 bp. Some members of themermaidfamily were found in transposon-like repetitive elements, including Tc1-like elements which are also distributed in the genomes of fish and amphibian. This raises the possibility of horizontal transfer of themermaidfamily between vertebrates via transposons.
  
  1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: 81-3-3357-5445. e-mail: QZB00077@nifty serve.or.jp. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob...
• I agree with Rotter. Though the pollution hasn%26#039;t helped. I remember an old Blue Peter episode telling us about how they were also strangled by those plastic six pack lager (some filthy brew the lower orders drink for survival) holder majiggys.
  
  They did a graphic reenactment and everything.
• your question says %26quot;extention%26quot; of the mermaid species? What are you talking about do you mean %26quot;extinction%26quot;
  
  Mermaids are folklore, not real, like Batman lol wish I had better things to do than answer dumb *** questions like this but I don%26#039;t tonight .....
• Many scientists thought they were extinct, and still do. The reason for that, is because the mermaids moved their town further south because to many people knew where they lived and they felt endangered. mirmaidologist
• i%26#039;m pretty sure ethel merman had children and they%26#039;re still alive, so i think you%26#039;ve received some premature reports of their demise.
  
  and look, there%26#039;s bitsy reporting from the secret mer-kingdom. love your new picture, bitsy, darling!
• Nice one......maybe they went down with Atlantis.
  Mermaids are thought to have been unclear sightings of Dugongs, or Manatee (gregarious sirenians)
• I think the cause of their extinction is the fact that they never actually existed in the first place.
• Overfishing old boy, although the pond up at Rotter manor is full of the fin tailed beauties. Tip top.
• Pollution and over fishing. If they were real then that is the reason.
• the mermaids are happily living in neverland with peter pan.
• Honey, if you can, visit Florida, they have mermaids (manatees). I love them.
• sex starved fishermen