Extinction

Before ancient megafauna went extinct, mastodons kept broad-leaved vegetation, such as black ash trees, in check. (Image credit: Barry Roal Carlsen, University of Wisconsin-Madison.)

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.

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A diagram of the new marsupial species body outline with fossils superimposed on top

Quarter-ton marsupial that ambled across Australia 3.5 million years ago was 'unlike anything alive today'

By Harry Baker published

The newly described extinct species is closely related to the largest marsupial to ever roam the Earth.

Extinct Species
We see six people in a rocky area with excavated fossils on the ground and covered in plaster blocks.

Nearly 6 million-year-old 'elephant graveyard' unearthed in Florida

By Kiley Price published

Paleontologists have uncovered a graveyard of ancient elephant relatives.

Extinct Species
A black and white image of a dinosaur scooping its lower skull through water

Massive dino from Brazil ate 'like a pelican,' controversial new study finds. Why is it causing an uproar?

By Harry Baker published

The study reveals new information about the carnivorous dinosaur Irritator challengeri, but the research has been criticized because the fossils may have been illegally removed from Brazil.

Dinosaurs
An illustration of the saber-toothed predator Inostrancevia standing above its dead prey with its jaws wide open and large canines on display.

Fearsome saber-toothed giant dominated at dawn of 'Great Dying', but its reign was short-lived

By Sascha Pare published

Inostrancevia, a creature with tough skin like a rhino's, migrated 7,000 miles across the ancient supercontinent Pangaea and briefly dominated what is now South Africa before going extinct.

Extinct Species
A close up of a Tarchia in Prehistoric Planet shows its scaly skin, armored head and large nose.

Watch exclusive clip of never-before-depicted dinosaur from Prehistoric Planet season 2

By Sascha Pare published

Episode two, available to stream today on Apple TV+, features the heavily armored Tarchia, a dinosaur with an inbuilt air conditioning system and one of the largest ankylosaurs.

Dinosaurs
We see an illustration of a long-necked titanosaur dinosaur standing in front of four trees. The photo is gray and reddish.

Humongous, 100-foot-long dinosaur from Argentina is so big its fossils broke the road during transport

By Laura Geggel published

About 90 million years ago, a ginormous long-necked dinosaur measuring nearly 100 feet (30 meters) long lumbered through what is now Patagonia, Argentina.

Dinosaurs
An artist's interpretation shows a T. rex roaring in front of a yellow sky.

1.7 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes walked the Earth before going extinct, new study estimates

By Harry Baker published

The new prediction suggests fewer T. rex individuals roamed our planet than scientists previously thought.

Dinosaurs
A black and white picture of the last known thylacine at Hobart Zoo, in Tasmania, shows the distinctive stripes on its lower back.

Long-extinct Tasmanian tiger may still be alive and prowling the wilderness, scientists claim

By Sascha Pare published

Based on reported sightings, some scientists say the iconic creature probably survived until the late 1980s or 1990s, but others are skeptical.

Extinct Species
An artist's illustration of the pliosaur, an ancient ambush predator twice the size of an orca.

'Truly gigantic' Jurassic sea monster remains discovered by chance in museum

By Ben Turner published

The creature is believed to be a type of pliosaur — fearsome predators that had huge skulls, giant teeth and a bite force more powerful than that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Dinosaurs
Close up showing the extinct thunder beast Megacerops coloradensis on a black background

Rhino-like 'thunder beasts' grew massive in the evolutionary blink of an eye after dinos died off

By Cameron Duke published

Ancient mammals known as 'thunder beasts' grew 1,000 times bigger just 16 million years after the dino-killing asteroid struck.

Extinct Species
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