Extinction

Panamanian golden frogs—such as F1, seen here—are native to the rainforests and cloud forests of Panama but haven't been seen in the wild since 2009. Each creature's bright coloration warns predators of its deadly skin, which contains enough toxins to kill 1,200 mice.

A Small Band of Panamanian Golden Frogs Is Saving Their Species From Oblivion

Victims of a deadly fungus, the amphibians are now being selectively bred through a program at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

These brightly colored geese have no modern, real-world counterpart.

Tomb Painting Known as Egypt's 'Mona Lisa' May Depict Extinct Goose Species

Only two of the three kinds of birds found in the 4,600-year-old artwork correspond to existing kinds of animals

Steppe mammoths evolved shaggy coats over a million years ago, a trait inherited by woolly mammoths.

Oldest DNA Sequenced Yet Comes From Million-Year-Old Mammoths

Genetic material from three ancient molars reveals secrets of about how the Ice Age elephants evolved

Published in Scientific Reports, the new study by astronomers Amir Siraj and Avi Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, propose that a series of break-ups and chance events sent the huge chunk of space rock our way.

Astrophysicists Chart Source of Asteroid That Killed Dinosaurs

A new model explains a possible route for the extraterrestrial rock before it blasted Earth

A paleontologist excavating a 98 million-year-old fossil which may belong to the largest land animal ever. Researchers first started unearthing the creatures remains in 2012 at the Candeleros Formation in the Neuquen River Valley, Argentina.

Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina Could Be Largest Land Animal Ever

The skeleton is still far from complete but paleontologists say what they've found suggests the dinosaur may be more than 120 feet long

An artist's illustration of two gray wolves (lower left) vying with a pack of dire wolves for a bison carcass near the tar pits in Rancho La Brea roughly 15,000 years ago.

Dire Wolves Weren't Actually Wolves, DNA Analysis Reveals

Ancient DNA extracted from fossils shows the beast split off from Canis lupus and coyotes nearly 6 million years ago

Swinhoe’s softshell turtles were pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat destruction and by hunters who sought the turtles' meat and eggs.

The 'Last' Female Swinhoe's Softshell Turtle Died in 2019. Now, Researchers Found Another, Renewing Hope for the Species

Conservationists have been scrambling to save the most endangered turtles in the world from extinction

By studying recent mass extinctions on islands like Hawaii, Dr. Helen James is painting a picture of bird biodiversity today. Her research involves digging up fossils in caves to study bygone species, like the Kioea.

Meet One of the Curators Behind the Smithsonian's 640,000 Birds

Helen James' work on avian extinction helps in understanding how bird species today respond to threats like human encroachment and environmental change

Researchers say some of this woolly rhino's internal organs may still be preserved.

Melting Russian Permafrost Yields New Woolly Rhino Specimen

Russian researchers say this may be the best-preserved woolly rhino ever found

Some 1,280 of these species will lose a quarter or more of their remaining habitat and 350 are projected to lose more than half of the areas they currently call home.

Agriculture's Growing Footprint Could Threaten 17,000 Species With Habitat Loss

New research projects 1.3 million square miles of habitat will be converted to croplands by 2050

The flower of a newly discovered orchid species from Madagascar called Gastrodia agnicellus. It's looks are, shall we say, unconventional.

Behold the World's Ugliest Orchid, According to Botanists

Surprisingly, the plant’s fleshy, brown flowers don't smell so bad

The team's findings reflect the toll of the ivory trade and habitat destruction.

Ivory From 16th-Century Shipwreck Yields Clues to African Elephants' Decline

Researchers extracted DNA from tusks found in the wreckage of the "Bom Jesus," a treasure-laden vessel that sank in 1533

An artist's illustration of a newly described species of ichthyosaur called Thalassodraco etchesi swimming in the Late Jurassic seas off the coast of England.

Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovers New 'Sea Dragon' Species on British Beach

Researchers think the new species may have been a deep diving specialist, due to its cavernous ribcage and enlarged eyes

The pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived in the age of the dinosaurs. This is an artist's illustration of a member of the genus Pteranodon, which included some of the largest known flying reptiles. .

Study Reveals Humble Origins of Flying Pterosaurs

Tiny, flightless reptiles called lagerpetids may have given rise to the largest flying animal ever to have lived on Earth

This discovery offers a new theory to how the world's most ferocious predator went extinct more than 3 million years ago.

Megalodons, the Ocean's Most Ferocious Prehistoric Predators, Raised Their Young in Nurseries

The fossils shed light on how these sharks were raised and what led to their ultimate demise

Humans once lived alongside megafauna such as this elephant bird, giant lemurs, dwarf hippos and giant tortoises on Madagascar.

Droughts and Human Interference Wiped Out Madagascar's Gigantic Wildlife 1,500 Years Ago

The species had survived droughts before, but human interference was the final nail in the mega-sized coffin

A female megalodon model, based on a set of teeth discovered in the Bone Valley Formation in Florida, hangs in The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

How Cannibalism in the Womb May Have Made Megalodon a Titanic Terror

A new analysis of shark body size offers clues as to why the 50-foot-long prehistoric shark grew so large

The Yonahlossee salamander is a woodland species from the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States

Here's How You Can Help Amphibians in the Fight Against Extinction

We now know that the killer chytrid fungus originated in Asia and that humans unintentionally spread it around the world

A great spotted woodpecker eats a hazelnut. Bird beaks may have allowed the animals to eat seeds and nuts after an asteroid hit the earth, wiping out many forms of life.

Why Birds Survived, and Dinosaurs Went Extinct, After an Asteroid Hit Earth

Paleontologists think that beaks may have given birds an advantage over other creatures

A photo of a highland wild dog in Papua, Indonesia. A new genetic study confirms that these wild dogs are in fact a surviving population of the New Guinea singing dog, which was thought to be extinct in the wild.

Thought to Be Extinct, New Guinea’s Singing Dogs Found Alive in the Wild

A new genetic study confirms that the unique dogs, thought to be extinct in the wild, still exist outside of human care

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