Most species that ever lived on Earth are now extinct, with the planet having experienced at least five mass extinction events. Live Science brings you expert coverage of extinction as researchers uncover fossils and gain new insights into ancient animals — and track the sixth mass extinction event that appears to have begun.
So whether you're after facts about dodos and dinosaurs, curious about extinct animals that could be brought back to life, or want to know what living animals could be gone by 2050, our writers and editors have you covered with the news, features and articles about extinct species.
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Latest about Extinct species
Secrets of 1st dinosaurs lie in the Sahara and Amazon rainforest, study suggests
The first dinosaurs may have evolved near the equator, and not in the southwest of the supercontinent Gondwana, as researchers previously assumed due to an abundance of fossils in places like Argentina and Zimbabwe.
'Sexy' pterosaur tail should have been nightmare for flying. How did it work?
The first pterosaurs had a sail-like tensioning system for flying with potentially cumbersome tail vanes, which they could have used for displays, a new study finds.
Giant horned dinosaur's fossils were destroyed in WWII — but photos reveal it was an unknown species
Scientists have unveiled a giant horned dinosaur from Egypt called Tameryraptor markgrafi after discovering lost photos of fossils destroyed in WWII.
World's tiniest cat was a palm-sized tiddler that lived in China 300,000 years ago
Scientists identified the tiny species of cat from a fossilized jawbone, which could date back as far as 300,000 years ago.
Enormous skull of 200-million-year-old giant dinosaur discovered in China
The well-preserved skull belongs to a never-before-seen species of sauropodomorph that potentially grew up to 33 feet long.
'Red flags' raised over ancient sea monster pulled from Moroccan mine
A mosasaur species with saw-like teeth that was described by scientists in 2021 may have been based on forged fossils, and researchers are now calling for CT scans to determine the creature's origin.
Oldest-known dinosaur in North America is a 'chicken-size' raptor — and changes what we know about how dinos conquered Earth
A newfound "chicken-size" dinosaur, recently unearthed in Wyoming, changes what paleontologists thought they knew about how dinosaurs spread across the globe.
Weird bumps in UK quarry turn out to be 166 million-year-old dinosaur 'highway' for some of Jurassic's biggest dinosaurs
Researchers have excavated the largest dinosaur footprint site in the U.K. after a quarry worker found tracks left by two of Britain's biggest Jurassic dinosaurs.
