Latest Extinction Stories
Rather than being physically wiped out, a new study suggests that Neanderthals were likely integrated into the gene pool of early humans after the two groups crossed paths and began interbreeding. The new study, published in the journal Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), was written by C. Michael Barton of Arizona State University (ASU) and Julien Riel-Salvatore of the University of Colorado Denver, and "builds on work published last year in the journal Human Ecology and on recent genetic...
DARIEN, Conn., Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Friends of Animals recently celebrated a victory for scimitar-horned oryx, addax, and dama gazelles who are routinely bred and killed on hunting ranches here in the United States. These animals, on the brink of extinction in their native homelands in northern Africa, have been the targets of paying trophy hunters seeking a thrill-kill. On 5 Jan. 2012, a new rule in the U.S. Federal Register was published, reflecting two decades...
Animals and plants could be on a collision course created by climate change, and our current predictions might be underestimating how many will go extinct Predictions of the loss of animal and plant diversity around the world are common under models of future climate change. But a new study shows that because these climate models don't account for species competition and movement, they could grossly underestimate future extinctions. "We have really sophisticated meteorological models...
“Bills such as S3061, sponsored by Senator Raymond Lesniak, are unnecessary,” says Feline Conservation Federation executive director Lynn Culver. "USDA licensed zoological institutions are already required to identify their animal holdings, and already maintain birth, death, acquisition, and disposition records, and make them available for state and federal inspection and tracking.” Washington, DC (PRWEB) December 30, 2011 Feline Conservation Federation (FCF) the nation’s...
Well-preserved woolly mammoth bone marrow found in a thigh bone recovered from permafrost soil in Siberia may make it possible for scientists from Japan and Russia to clone a mammoth for the first time, according to recent reports. Teams from the Sakha Republic’s mammoth museum and Japan’s Kinki University are set to launch a jointly funded research project next year with the goal of bringing the giant mammal back to life, Japan’s Kyodo News reported. The teams believe they could...
Evolutionary change helps species track ongoing climate warming As global temperatures rise and climatic zones move polewards, species will need to find different environments to prevent extinction. New research, published today in the journal Molecular Ecology, has revealed that climate change is causing certain species to move and adapt to a range of new habitats. The study, led by academics at the Universities of Bristol and Sheffield, aimed to understand the role of evolution in...
Researchers develop a unified theory of ecosystem change by combining spatial modeling and food web analysis Animals like foxes and raccoons are highly adaptable. They move around and eat everything from insects to eggs. They and other “generalist feeders” like them may also be crucial to sustaining biological diversity, according to a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). McGill biology researchers have developed a unified,...
Results stem from largest ever examination of fossil marine species It's well known that Earth's most severe mass extinction occurred about 250 million years ago. What's not well known is the specific time when the extinctions occurred. A team of researchers from North America and China have published a paper in Science this week which explicitly provides the date and rate of extinction. "This is the first paper to provide rates of such massive extinction," says Dr. Charles Henderson,...
Organisms living on small islands are particularly threatened by extinction. However, data are often lacking to objectively assess these threats. A team of German and British researchers used satellite imagery to assess the conservation status of endangered reptiles and amphibians of the Comoro archipelago in the Western Indian Ocean. The researchers used their results to point out which species are most threatened and to define priorities for future protected areas. The study was published...
In an irony of nature, invasive species can become essential to the very ecosystems threatened by their presence, according to a recent discovery that could change how scientists and governments approach the restoration of natural spaces. Princeton University researchers report this month in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B evidence that destructive, non-native animals that have been deservedly maligned by conservationists the world over can take on important biological roles...
Latest Extinction Reference Libraries
Commonly known as the Eurasian cave lion or the European cave lion, Panthera leo spelaea is an extinct subspecies of lion. It is thought to have lived during the Pleistocene epoch, and may have lived in the Balkans in southeastern Europe until 2,000 years ago. The range of this cave lion would have included northwestern North America, Asia, and areas of Europe and would have extended from Germany, Spain, and Great Britain to the Yukon Territory. Its range also extended from Turkistan to...
The short-faced bear is an extinct genus of bears that was native to North America during the Pleistoscene era. Other common names include Arctodus and the bulldog bear. There are two subspecies of the short-faced bear, and one of them, Aroctodus simus, is thought to have been the largest terrestrial mammal on earth. Placed into a group of bears known as running bears or the tremarctine bears, this genus was found in Europe and the Americas. The earliest member of the tremarchtine group,...
The American lion (Panthera leo atrox or P. atrox) is also known as the North American lion, American cave lion, or Naegele’s giant jaguar. It is an extinct species that was native to North America and the northwestern parts of South America during the Pleistocene era. It lived up to eleven thousand years ago. During the last interglacial period in North America (the Sangamonian Stage), the American lion’s range included the Americas south of Alaska. The earliest fossils of these big cats...
Miracinonyx, commonly known as the American Cheetah, is an extinct genus of large cats. It was native to North America during the Pleiotocene era(1.8 million to 11,000 years ago). The American cheetah held at least two species in its genus that are similar to modern cheetahs, including Miracinonyx inexpectatus and M. trumani. Similarities distinguished by bone fragments include a short face and nose for better breathing, and elongated legs used for swiftly hunting prey. These similarities are...
Glyptotherium is an extinct genus of mammal related to the armadillo. Glyptodontids lived about 4.1 to 1.5 million years ago. It is believed this genus was wiped out by climate change or perhaps early human interference, although there is no direct evidence of humans preying on them. Species of this genus thrived in tropical and subtropical regions of Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. The genus was named in 1903, and assigned to the family Glyptodontinae in 1995. Like its...
