extinction

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extinct species

What are the different types of extinction?

Know about Earth's mass extinctions

Jamaican flightless ibis

“Losing the Vaquita in the Northern Gulf of California: What Would It Mean?”

“The Incredible Shrinking World of the Polar Bear”

“Bluefin Tunas and the Problem of Overfishing”

“The Precarious State of the Monarch Butterfly”

“The Orangutan Conservation Conundrum”

For Students

extinction (of species) summary

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The Panamanian Golden Frog is a critically endangered frog which is endemic to Panama.

Extinct in the Wild but Still Around: 5 Plants and Animals Kept Alive by Humans

Artist interpretation of space asteroids impacting earth and moon. Meteoroids, meteor impact, end of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Doomsday Predictions, comet

Major Mass Extinctions

Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) photographed in the Midwest in 2017. endangered species insect pollination

What Would Happen If All the Bees Died?

A large school of mano (sharks) called Galapagos sharks at Maro Reef in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis)a worldwide species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae.

Saving Sharks in the 2020s

Bald eagle in flight.

What Makes a Species Endangered?

Discover

NBA Lakers Celtics Finals Kevin Garnett shooting.

10 Great Sports Rivalries

Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.

6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece

Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents

Big beaver gnawing on limb at river's edge

6 Animal Species that Mate for Life

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

extinction: Related Content

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Photos and Videos

extinct species

Jamaican flightless ibis

near-Earth object: impact

endangered coral reefs

confiscated ivory

Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)

passenger pigeon

What are the different types of extinction?

Know about Earth's mass extinctions

How do human activities affect Earth's climate?

ozone depletion's connection to mass extinction

What happened to the dodo bird?

See All Videos, Images and Podcasts →

Topics

endangered species secondary extinction Extinct in the Wild Extinct background extinction rate extinction rate human-induced extinction mass extinction event Permian extinction K–T extinction heredity adaptation coevolution speciation emergence natural selection selection variation mosaic evolution creative evolution

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Walter Alvarez

Walter Alvarez

American geologist

Loren Eiseley

American anthropologist

Quiz

greylag. Flock of Greylag geese during their winter migration at Bosque del Apache National Refugee, New Mexico. greylag goose (Anser anser)

Biology Bonanza

List

The Panamanian Golden Frog is a critically endangered frog which is endemic to Panama.

Extinct in the Wild but Still Around: 5 Plants and Animals Kept Alive by Humans

Artist interpretation of space asteroids impacting earth and moon. Meteoroids, meteor impact, end of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Doomsday Predictions, comet

Major Mass Extinctions

Demystified

Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) photographed in the Midwest in 2017. endangered species insect pollination

What Would Happen If All the Bees Died?