extinct

Today’s extinction rates are sky-high. But scientists debate if that’s sufficient evidence to conclude that Earth is undergoing a mass extinction event—or whether that’s even a helpful designation.

Extinction is a natural part of life on Earth. But occasionally, extinction rates have surged far beyond usual levels, driving mass extinction events that have reshaped the trajectory of life.

The study estimates that one-fifth of reptile species worldwide are at risk of extinction.

More than two-thirds of mammals in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula went extinct during the Eocene-Oligocene transition some 30 million years ago, a study finds.

Plant species officially reported to be lost are in fact persevering in the wild, in seed banks or botanical gardens, or as other species now recognized to be taxonomic synonyms.

The species include the first reptile to be listed and the Christmas Island pipistrelle, a bat last seen in 2009.

Scientists seek to combine genome editing with a technique used in chicken breeding to try to bring back lost birds.

A new study finds that the extinct European cave bear’s large sinuses represent a tradeoff between hibernation length and the flexibility of their diets.

A survey reveals the disease has decimated populations in Central and South America and tropical Australia and contributed to the extinction of 90 species.

Chelonoidis phantasticus, or the Fernandina giant tortoise, was feared extinct until an expedition found a lone female in a remote area on the island of Fernandina.

Four decades after it was thought to have disappeared in the wild, scientists have found a single female Wallace’s giant bee in Indonesia.

Only two members of the subspecies are now left alive.

Researchers identify the Lord Howe Island stick insect on the remains of a large volcano in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.

A new report estimates that human activities as well as other factors are threatening 20 percent of all invertebrate species, including corals and freshwater snails.

The world’s last Pinta Island tortoise died this past weekend at the age of 100.

A yellow-bellied dwarf toad, last sighted in 1876, is rediscovered in Sri Lanka.

Researchers analyze a diminutive forelimb bone, calling it conclusive evidence that a tiny mammoth resided on the Greek island.