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.

Explore Extinct Species

Latest about 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Prehistoric Planet Season 2

How to watch 'Prehistoric Planet' season 2

By Fran Ruiz last updated

Here’s how to watch Prehistoric Planet, including the upcoming season 2, as well as everything you need to know about Apple TV+’s hit documentary series.

A piece of black shale embedded with golden-hued fossils.

Mysterious 'golden' fossils from the Jurassic aren’t what they seem

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Fossils found in Germany's Posidonia Shale don't get their gleam from fool's gold after all.

123456789Archives