Extinction
Find out everything there is to know about extinction and stay updated on the latest extinction news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and pictures at LiveScience. Learn more about amazing discoveries scientists are making as they uncover the causes and other details of mass extinctions throughout history.
Latest about Extinct Species
Tasmanian tiger: Facts about the extinct thylacine
By Tia Ghose published
Discover interesting facts about where the Tasmanian tiger lived, what it ate, why and when it went extinct, and whether we could ever bring one back.
Woolly mammoths: Facts about these extinct, shaggy beasts that once roamed the Arctic
By Tia Ghose last updated
The woolly mammoth, a cousin of today's elephants, died out about 10,000 years ago. It may be possible to bring them back by cloning, but should we?
'Closer than people think': Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality — and we have no idea what happens next
By Sascha Pare published
Scientists are getting very close to bringing a few iconic species, like woolly mammoths and dodos, back from extinction. That may not be a good thing.
6 extinct species that scientists could bring back to life
By Sascha Pare published
De-extinction — the science of resurrecting extinct species — is progressing in leaps and bounds. Here are six creatures that researchers could bring back to life.
T. rex relative with giant, protruding eyebrows discovered in Kyrgyzstan
By Patrick Pester published
The newly discovered Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus fossils are the first of their kind from Kyrgyzstan and provide evidence of predatory dinosaurs caring for offspring in the Jurassic.
Ancient sea cow was killed by prehistoric croc then torn apart by a tiger shark
By Melissa Hobson published
Rare fossilized sea cow unearthed by a local farmer in Venezuela appears to have been killed by a croc then eaten by a tiger shark.
Huge 13,600-year-old mastodon skull and bones unearthed in Iowa
By Sascha Pare published
A team of archaeologists recently excavated the first well-preserved mastodon bones ever found in Iowa, including the prehistoric animal's skull.
Dodos were fast and powerful, not slow and inept, definitive preserved specimen suggests
By Tia Ghose published
A new study has cleared up misconceptions about the extinct dodo, identifying the reference specimen for the species and showing they were fast and powerful.
Huge mammoth tusk discovered sticking out of Mississippi streambed
By Tia Ghose published
An amateur fossil hunter in Mississippi found the first known fossil in the region from a mammoth — a well-preserved tusk that weighed about 600 pounds (270 kilograms).
Siberian gold miners accidentally find ancient woolly rhino mummy with horn and soft tissues still intact
By Hannah Osborne published
Mummified woolly rhino discovered by miners in Russia's Sakha Republic to be fully excavated in the coming months, as researchers begin studying its intact horn.
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