Researchers took a closer look at fossilized footprints—including these cat-like tracks—found at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon.

50-Million-Year-Old Footprints Open a ‘Rare Window’ Into the Behaviors of Extinct Animals That Once Roamed in Oregon

Scientists revisited tracks made by a shorebird, a lizard, a cat-like predator and some sort of large herbivore at what is now John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

A female Guam kingfisher (left) and a male (right) perch on a branch on Palmyra Atoll.

Biologists Rejoice as Extremely Rare Guam Kingfishers Lay Their First Wild Eggs in Nearly 40 Years

The brightly colored birds are extinct in the wild, having disappeared from their native Guam in 1988 due to the introduction of the invasive brown tree snake. But now, they’re starting to make a comeback on Palmyra Atoll

A reconstruction of a Neanderthal man in the Natural History Museum, Vienna. A new study suggests Neanderthals could not adapt to a period of increased radiation as well as early modern humans did.

Sunscreen, Clothing and Caves May Have Given Modern Humans an Edge Over Neanderthals When Earth’s Magnetic Field Wandered

A new study suggests the extinction of Neanderthals nearly coincided with a shift in Earth’s magnetic field that let more radiation reach the ground. Our species might have adapted more easily

Romulus and Remus, pups that the company Colossal Biosciences says are the first dire wolves to roam the planet in several thousand years, are seen at one month old.

Have Dire Wolves, Which Went Extinct More Than 10,000 Years Ago, Really Been Brought Back to Life?

Pioneers in the science of “de-extinction,” an American company has announced the births of three pups whose genes resemble those of a species that hasn’t roamed Earth for millennia

Researchers carefuly wrapped the tusk in strips of plaster-covered burlap for protection.

Cool Finds

A Hunter Was Out Looking for Deer in West Texas. He Found a Rare Mammoth Tusk Instead

Discovered in the drainage area of a creek bed, the tusk was initially thought to be “just an old stump”

A new study suggests that the lemon shark, pictured here, is a better analogue for the megalodon's size than a great white.

Megalodon Might Have Been Longer and Skinnier Than Previously Thought, Growing Up to 80 Feet

A new paper suggests the enormous, extinct shark looked less like a bulky great white and more like an elongated lemon shark

The Florida white is among the butterflies experiencing the most drastic population loss, according to a new study.

U.S. Butterflies Are Disappearing at Drastic Rates, With One in Five Gone Since 2000

A new study finds the popular, fluttering insects have declined by 22 percent in the last 20 years

The mice were genetically engineered to have mammoth-like traits, such as thick, fluffy hair.

Biotech Company Creates ‘Woolly Mouse’ as a Step in Its Quest to Resurrect Woolly Mammoths Through Gene Editing

Colossal Biosciences leaders say the fluffy, golden-haired mice help validate their technique to “de-extinct” species, but outside scientists remain skeptical

The title page painting in Jay Matternes: Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter features a dynamic scene from the Pliocene.

See Stunning Illustrations of Prehistoric Life From One of the Most Renowned Paleoartists in the World

A new book highlights the beautiful work of Jay Matternes, an accomplished artist who drew everything from mammoths to early humans

For reasons scientists still don’t totally understand, these beautiful and mystical birds went extinct on February 21, 1918.

On This Day in History

The Last Member of This Bird Species Died in Captivity on This Day in 1918

Incas died at the Cincinnati Zoo, leaving behind mysteries over his death, his final resting place and the factors that led to the extinction of the Carolina parakeet

An artist's illustration of a plesiosaur, based on new research that finds these now-extinct sea monsters had both smooth and scaly skin.

Rare Fossil of 183-Million-Year-Old ‘Sea Monster’ Reveals Both Smooth and Scaly Skin

For the first time, scientists have completed an in-depth analysis of fossilized soft tissues from a plesiosaur

The mammoths were not all related to each other, according to the new analysis.

Mammoth Bones Used to Build Mysterious 25,000-Year-Old Site in Russia Came From Different Herds

DNA and radiocarbon dating analyses of the bones are offering new insights into the ambitious Ice Age site constructed by hunter-gatherers

Dinosaurs only started to live large after a mass extinction altered the planet in their favor.

How a Mass Extinction Driven by Ancient Volcanoes Led to the Age of the Dinosaurs

Roughly 201 million years ago, drastic changes extinguished many forms of life and led to conditions that allowed the terrible lizards to thrive

Early 20th-century paleontologists wondered whether the small arms of Tyrannosaurus rex were used for grasping when the dinosaurs mated.

Everything You Want to Know About the Sex Lives of Dinosaurs, From Scratching the Ground to Battling With Horns

By evaluating fossils, scientists are learning what creature features may have been used to attract mates and fight off sexual competitors

The endangered Woodville Karst cave crayfish (Procambarus orcinus)

Freshwater Animals Are More Fragile Than Thought, With Nearly a Quarter Threatened With Extinction, Study Finds

Species in Lake Victoria, Lake Titicaca, Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone and the Western Ghats of India are particularly vulnerable to the effects of agriculture, human infrastructure and climate change, per the paper

The Santa Marta sabrewing, a highly elusive bird, showed itself in 2022, in Colombia, giving hope to conservationists.

Dedicated Scientists and Birdwatchers Tracked Down These Five ‘Lost’ Birds

A worldwide search party is using 21st-century tools to uncover long-unseen species, one of which hadn’t been found since the 19th century

This rock contains the first of the newly discovered fossils: It is a portion of a fossil lake shore that preserves very fine details of ripples produced by waves, on which a small reptile left behind footprints of its legs and tail.

Cool Finds

Italian Hiker Discovers Animal Tracks From a Time Before Dinosaurs, Hinting at a Prehistoric Ecosystem

Revealed by melting snow in the Alps, the imprints in rock were left by reptiles and amphibians during the Permian period, which ended with the world’s largest mass extinction

This adult Partula tohiveana snail doesn't have a dot of UV-reflective paint on its shell, meaning it was born in the wild.

These Tiny Snails Are Breeding in the Wild for the First Time in 40 Years in French Polynesia

During a release of captive-bred snails in September, researchers discovered wild-born individuals from the Partula tohiveana species—which had been considered extinct in the wild—marking a huge milestone in a global effort to save them

Cloned black-footed ferret Antonia's kits at three weeks old, on July 9, 2024.

A Cloned Ferret Has Given Birth for the First Time in History, Marking a Win for Her Endangered Species

Antonia, a cloned black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, has produced two healthy offspring that will help build genetic diversity in their recovering population

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