15 Items Tagged

Extinction

The last wild Round Island hurricane palm stands nearly 30 feet tall, towering above other palms.

This Mauritius Palm Is the Last of Its Kind in the Wild

Dedicated scientists are going to extremes to save this rare plant from extinction.

Ryan Truscott May 10, 2023

This photo, captured by researchers Matthew Gardner and David Pereira on Grand Bahama in 2018, is one of the last-known sightings of the Bahama nuthatch. It is believed the bird was wiped out by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

The Last Days of the Bahama Nuthatch

What's it like to "very probably" witness extinction?

Shoshi Parks March 15, 2023

Podcast: The Various Ends of the World

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange stories.

The Podcast Team April 18, 2022

The World's Largest Bee and the Cautionary Tale of Its Rediscovery

Scientists were thrilled to find the Wallace's giant bee, missing for four decades. Things did not go as they'd hoped.

Oliver Milman April 11, 2022

Using a surprise source of evidence, researchers believe an infamous dinosaur-killing asteroid slammed into Earth in the Northern Hemisphere spring.

Did the Dinosaurs Die on a Pleasant North Dakota Spring Day?

Fish fossils may put "the single worst day for multicellular life on Earth" on the calendar.

Gemma Tarlach February 23, 2022

Science just saved this cute little fish from extinction.

extinct animals

Inside the Years-Long, International Effort to Save One Tiny Mexican Fish

Scientists and schoolchildren worked together to bring the tequila fish back from extinction.

Sarah Durn January 13, 2022

A northern bettong from a small population in Danbulla National Park in North Queensland.

These Truffle-Eating Marsupials in Australia Are 'Ecosystem Engineers'

There are far fewer northern bettongs than previously thought, but work is underway to save the species.

Lisa Cox November 29, 2021

The gleaming white Tahitian tree snail <em>Partula hyalina</em> rests on a leaf beside one of the world's smallest computers.

Tiny Computers Reveal How Tahiti's Tree Snails Evade a Fierce Predator

The bean-sized snail has persevered despite hundreds of related species going extinct in recent decades.

Hannah Thomasy July 14, 2021

Even miles inland, cows' overgrazing can have offshore consequences.

How Cows Destroyed an Entire Marine Ecosystem in California

A researcher's quest to understand a mysterious mass extinction leads to cud-chewing culprits.

Jack Tamisiea June 21, 2021

The old quarry from above.

Behind a New Jersey Hardware Store, a Paleontological Bonanza

The third episode of TED’s Far Flung podcast was 66 million years in the making.

Anna Phelan June 30, 2020

The asteroid that led to a mass extinction 66 million years ago likely struck the Earth at a very high speed—around 12.5 miles per second—and at the deadliest possible angle.

What a Buried Crater in Mexico Says About the Asteroid That Doomed the Dinosaurs

And why the scars left by meteoritic impacts tell us about life, the universe, and everything.

Luna Shyr June 8, 2020

<em>Cyanea kuhihewa</em>, rediscovered.

botanical gardens

In Kaua‘i, Botanists Rediscover an Extinct Plant Once Mistaken for Another Extinct Plant

Just another day in Hawaiian conservation.

Sabrina Imbler February 28, 2020

Platypuses face an uncertain future.

Australia’s Platypuses Are Invisible Victims of the Bushfires

After years of drought and habitat loss, “It’s one more nail in their coffin.”

Sabrina Imbler January 24, 2020

Snailer and malacologist Norine Yeung in a field of trampled uluhe.

In the Field With the Intrepid, Dedicated Snailers of Hawai‘i

Tiny gastropods, huge undertaking.

Sabrina Imbler November 22, 2019

Andrea Kramer, of the Chicago Botanic Garden, pollinating "cabbage on a stick."

botanical gardens

Could a Gene Bank Save Endangered Plants From Extinction?

A "plant studbook" might help botanic gardens bring rare breeds back from the brink.

Lorraine Boissoneault November 1, 2019