Florida tree cactus is the first extinction victim of rising seas in the United States
The Key Largo tree cactus succumbs to climate change. More are surely to come, scientists warn.
Tag: extinction
The catastrophic Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs created a 15-year winter
Fine silicate dust contributed to a prolonged "impact winter".
Humans, not climate, drove large mammal populations to decline 50,000 years ago
Study looks into the DNA of almost 140 species of large mammals
Dog sniffs out ‘extinct’ Golden Mole in South Africa, rediscovered after 86 years
The rediscovery of the De Winton's golden mole, long thought extinct, showcases nature's resilience and offers hope amidst rising species ...
Only a few tiger subspecies remain in the wild — here they are
Learn more about the different types of tiger subspecies. All of them are sadly endangered.
Tiny clam species has been found alive and well, despite our presuming it went extinct 40 millennia ago
That's a pretty long time to not notice a clam.
Pig’s for dinner: invasive feral hogs helped save Australia’s apex predator from extinction
Silver linings sometimes are bacon-flavored.
More than half of today’s threatened species need targeted interventions to stave off extinction
Wide-net environmental solutions wouldn't be enough for 57% of threatened species.
Big brains helped clever mammals survive the last Ice Age that wiped out megafauna
Mastodons and saber-toothed tigers may have lacked the brain power to adapt to the end of the ice age.
Scrambled DNA of extinct rat suggests there’s no hope to resurrect the woolly mammoth
Maybe it's time to temper our enthusiasm.
Raptor birds around the world are in decline, as they struggle with habitat loss and poisoned foods
It’s a global problem, affecting over half of all species.
Biodiversity loss, fueled by human activity, could take millions of years to recover
This is part of our legacy.
Sawfish could soon become completely extinct if we don’t stop overfishing, says a study
Ever seen a sawfish? Chances are you didn't because they're very endangered.
Parrots are facing extinction, and only policymakers can save them
Anyone know how I can get a job as a policymaker?
Climate change wiped out five human relatives, new study says. Are we next?
We were just lucky we made it last time climate change threatened our species.
Scientists around the world call on governments to protect cetaceans or risk seeing them go extinct
Countries need to take urgent action to protect species from human activities
UK butterflies need more shady spots or risk dying to climate change
These butterflies would really like it if we threw some shade on them.
‘Extinction: The Facts’: Attenborough’s new documentary is surprisingly radical
A conservation scientist interviewed on the programme says Sir David tells it like it is.
The world’s herbivores are in trouble, more so than its predators
Popular wisdom was that predators are most at risk -- turns out it's actually their food that's struggling.
The uneasy story of how the Great Auk went extinct
A burning reminder of how mankind can drive species to extinction.
Human activity might undo more than 50 billion years of evolution
At least 50 billion years worth of unique evolutionary history is at risk, a new study found.
Drought and human expansion are driving the platypus extinct
One of the world's most unique mammals is heading for extinction.
Neanderthal extinction could have been driven by inbreeding, demographic issues — not modern humans
"Our results indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals might have resided in the smallness of their population(s) alone," the paper's ...
Koalas might not be functionally extinct — but they’re in huge trouble
It's unclear if the species really is functionally extinct -- but koalas have been in trouble for a long time.
‘Lost’ deer species rediscovered after 30 years
The adorable-looking fanged critter has been rediscovered in Vietnam after it was presumed extinct for three decades.
Stop climate change or the Emperor penguins die, a new paper warns
I love penguins.
The last mammoths lived on a remote island in the Arctic
They died-off suddenly -- but perhaps not dramatically.
Pixelated images showcase how close these species are to extinction
You'll have to squint.
Human-driven extinction cost New Zealand 50 million years’ worth of bird evolution
Losses include but are not limited to those giant eagles at the end of Lord of the Rings.
8 bird species have disappeared this decade or are on the brink of extinction
This includes the Spix’s Macaw, the lovely birds which inspired the main characters in Rio.
Researchers are one step closer to saving the northern white rhino from complete extinction
With only two females surviving in captivity, the species is functionally extinct.
The birth of forests helped drive two massive, ancient extinctions
They did not come in peace.
Timeline for giant sloth extinction rewritten by new analysis
A little dirt makes a lot of difference.
Giraffes quietly dropped down to ‘Endangered list’
Giraffes have been undergoing a silent extinction.
Shark numbers plummet by 92% in Australian waters
Sharks are declining at an alarming rate.
Exploding stars may have wiped off large ocean life 2.5 million years ago
The planet's largest shark may have been killed by a supernova.
Researchers want to clone 40,000-year-old extinct horse — a step towards woolly mammoth resurrection
A 40,000-year-old baby horse recovered from Siberian ice may help de-extinct species.
Extremely cold climate may have sealed Neanderthals’ extinction
Climate change was unforgiving with the Neanderthals.
‘Survival of the laziest’: species that consume less energy better suited to dodging extinction
For some species, chilling is the best survival strategy.
Bacteria species, too, can become extinct — and they do so quite often
The findings go against commonly-held wisdom today.
One of the world’s rarest mammals is disappearing from folklore
The rarest ape in the world is slowly becoming forgotten.
Ancient volcanism shows our emissions can trigger a mass marine extinction
Ancient volcanism offers a glimpse into the future effects of climate change.
Humans are responsible for the sudden disappearance of world’s largest mammals
At this rate, in a few centuries, the world's largest mammal could be the domestic cow.
Mass extinction event 232 million years ago paved the way for the dinosaurs
The dinosaurs started and ended with a bang.
Humanity killed off mega-herbivores — but climate change might warrant bringing them back
Turns out eating all the mammoth wasn't that good of an idea.
Right whales face extinction if humans don’t intervene fast, NOAA researchers warn
The ocean will be less without them.
After the dinosaurs went extinct, mammals crawled out of the dark to take over
The extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs left many empty niches for the mammals' taking.
Asteroid impact that wiped out dinosaurs was far worse than previously thought
Earth's average surface air temperature droppped by as much as a staggering 26 degrees Celsius.
Neanderthals were doomed to fail, new study suggests
Humans weren't necessarily better than the Neanderthals, they just moved around more.
