Extinction

Two thylacines at the Smithsonian National Zoo around 1905. A thylacine brain from the Smithsonian Institution was scanned as part of a study to learn more about the extinct marsupial, but it is unclear whether that brain belonged to one of the animals pictured.

How Scientists Reconstructed the Brain of a Long-Extinct Beast

This dog-like marsupial went extinct 80 years ago, but its preserved brains help us glean how its mind worked

Scimitar-horned oryx being released into their holding pen in Chad last March

Second Group of the Once-Extinct African Oryx to Be Released Into the Wild

Hunting wiped out wild populations of the scimitar-horned creatures, but breeding programs are helping them make a comeback

Illustration of the hyolith Haplophrentis

Tiny Cone-Shaped Creature Gets a Twig on the Tree of Life

Hyoliths have confused scientists for 175 years, but researchers have finally worked out a few of their close relatives

Giraffes Silently Slip Onto the Endangered Species List

Years of habitat destruction and poaching have reduced giraffe numbers by 30 percent, placing them in the vulnerable category for the first time

What Really Killed Off the Woolly Mammoth?

What caused woolly mammoths to die-off so quickly? New evidence suggests an unfavorable climate may have drove them to extinction

Before the recent reintroductions of P-horses, the last confirmed sighting in the wild was in 1969.

The Remarkable Comeback of Przewalski's Horse

Once nearly extinct, the population of these wild horses has rebounded on the dusty steppes of Mongolia

Many scientists believe we are standing on the edge of an unprecedented era of extinction.

Why Should Humans Care if We're Entering the Sixth Mass Extinction?

In this episode of Generation Anthropocene, learn what a new era of extinction means for diverse species—including our own

The three-spine stickleback usually forages and builds its nest near the lake bottom. But in Enos Lake, it appears to have merged with a related species that spends its time near the surface.

Extinction or Evolution? The Answer Isn't Always Clear

The same factors that kill off some species cause others to evolve at lightning speed

A black and white ruffed lemur in Madagascar's Vakona Forest Reserve. Worldwide, primates are particularly prone to overhunting, according to the first global assessment of bush meat hunting trends.

A New Report Says We're Hunting the World's Mammals to Death. What Can Be Done?

Solutions are multifaceted and region-specific, but conservation researchers have some ideas

Botswana Unexpectedly Reverses Course on Ivory Trade

The southern African nation now supports protection for the animals instead of limited sales of ivory

Toughie

Adiós, Toughie: The Last Known Rabb’s Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog Dies in Atlanta

Since his discovery in 2005, Toughie the frog has been the face of amphibian extinction

Campsite Places Humans in Argentina 14,000 Years Ago

Excavations at the site Arroyo Seco 2 include stone tools and evidence that humans were hunting giant sloths, giant armadillos and extinct horse species

In an artist's interpretation, the forested and warm Late Cretaceous is abruptly destroyed by a six-mile wide asteroid.

Life Bounced Back After the Dinosaurs Perished

The devastation was immediate, catastrophic and widespread, but plants and mammals were quick to take over

Benjamin photographed at Beaumaris Zoo in 1933.

Remembering the Tasmanian Tiger, 80 Years After It Became Extinct

Today, the animal’s memory is alive and well in Australia

Rare Dodo Composite Skeleton Goes On Sale

A British auction house is selling one of only a dozen known dodo skeletons, put together by a collector from the bones of several birds

An artist's rendering of Chicxulub, the asteroid believed to have wiped out large dinosaurs and reshaped parts of the world.

What Happened in the Seconds, Hours, Weeks After the Dino-Killing Asteroid Hit Earth?

The Cretaceous forecast: Tsunamis, a deadly heat pulse, and massive cooling.

Temperature-sensitive pikas store grass for winter munching.

How Climate Change Will Transform the National Parks’ Iconic Animals and Plants

Dramatic changes may force park managers to choose which species will live, and which will die

Engraving of a woolly mammoth.

Solving a Mystery of Mammoth Proportions

Dwindling freshwater sealed the demise of the St. Paul woolly mammoths, and could still pose a threat today

Spix’s Macaw, Star of “Rio,” Spotted in the Wild for the First Time in 15 Years

Captured in a backlit cellphone video, the sighting gives conservationists hope for the survival of Brazil's little blue birds

Co-author in the new study, Nick Longrich from the Milner Centre for Evolution at Bath University, poses with some mammal specimens.

The Event that Wiped out Dinosaurs Also Nearly Did in the Mammals

New estimates suggest a measly seven percent of mammals survived the extinction

Page 11 of 17