The fossil of a gigantic ichthyosaur was recently discovered in the UK. It wasn’t the only creature lurking in the Jurassic oceans.
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Articles on Mass extinctions
Displaying 1 - 20 of 70 articles
While current extinction rates remain lower than during previous mass extinction events, the number of species under threat of dying out is growing, reflecting the true scale of loss.
If the asteroid caused the very sudden end of the dinosaurs, a new study shows that their decline had begun 10 million years earlier.
Today, Earth’s biodiversity is highest at the equator – but it hasn’t always been this way.
Huge volcanic eruptions were once believed to be the cause of mass extinctions on Earth. However, new research has found that super eruptions did not necessarily result in mass extinctions.
A new study found iridium, an element found in asteroids, in the rocks of the Chicxulub impact crater.
Humanity is destroying Earth’s ability to support complex life. But coming to grips with the magnitude of the problem is hard, even for experts.
66 million years ago, birds survived the calamity that wiped out all prehistoric dinosaurs. But could birds once again evolve into their long lost ancestors?
The end-Triassic mass extinction was a cataclysm for the world’s prehistoric species, killed off by volcanoes that altered Earth’s seas and skies. But new research shows it didn’t happen when we thought.
Our new research has discovered how a series of volcanic eruptions 233 million years ago fundamentally changed life on Earth.
When the dinosaurs went extinct, some species took over the world. Adaptability, not survivability, explains why.
New research on the Late Devonian extinction suggests the ozone layer could be naturally depleted as the temperature rises.
The trajectory of the Chicxulub asteroid led to the most efficient release of gas and projectile rocks – which was disastrous for life on Earth.
Large numbers, huge ranges, and adaptibility make the human species very difficult to eradicate
The historical record is full of surprises – and it could encourage conservationists to think more creatively.
The risks to nature from man-made global warming – and the imperative to act – are clear.
The analysis suggests that there was a mass extinction event at the time of the end-Permian, on land - and that it happened at the same time as the marine end-Permian extinction.
A drying climate and the arrival of people together finished off Australia’s megafauna.
300,000 years ago, there were lots of different species of human. Now it’s only us – and we’re probably the reason why.
Populations of plankton are in decline. If we push this critical foundation of the marine food chain to extinction, we could cripple ecosystems for millions of years.
Top contributors
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Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National University
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Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Bath
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Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University
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Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University
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Associate Professor in Earth System Science, University of Exeter
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President, Center for Conservation Biology, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University
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Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath
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Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
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Professorial Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
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Director of the Macquarie Planetary Research Centre/Associate Professor in Geodynamics, Macquarie University
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Professor (conservation biology), Charles Darwin University
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Postdoctoral Researcher, The University of Queensland
