Our planet’s first known mass extinction happened about 440 million years ago. Species diversity on Earth had been increasing over a period of roughly 30 million years, but that would come to a halt ...

The mass extinction that killed 80% of life on Earth 250 million years ago may not have been quite so disastrous for plants, new fossils hint. Scientists have identified a refuge in China where it ...

The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) mass extinction event, marking the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods approximately 66 million years ago, stands as one of the most profound ...

Earth has a long and dramatic history, and one recurring theme is extinction. Did you know that over the last 500 million years, our planet experienced five major mass extinction events? These events ...

Violent supernovas may have caused two of Earth’s largest mass extinctions that have never been completely explained, according to a theory put forward in new research.During the final stages of a ...

This lineage was widespread and abundant in the Late Cretaceous, but just a few species survive today off the coasts of Australia. If you’re an animal living through a mass extinction, it’s best to be ...

One reason for the decline in extinction rates is the growing momentum of conservation efforts. Multiple species have been saved from extinction by habitat protections, breeding programs, and legal ...

It had quite an impact — striking with the force of 10 million atomic bombs. Sixty-six million years ago, the asteroid that slammed into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula caused a mass extinction ...