Extinction
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Find out everything there is to know about extinction and stay updated on the latest extinction news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and pictures at LiveScience. Learn more about amazing discoveries scientists are making as they uncover the causes and other details of mass extinctions throughout history.
Latest about Extinct Species
![A reconstruction of the biting structures of two newfound lamprey species.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/x87rFTAVSfkUJEE8rqJKp4-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Flesh-eating 'killer' lampreys that lived 160 million years ago unearthed in China
By Sascha Pare published
Scientists have described two lamprey fossils with "extensively toothed" mouths from the Jurassic period, shining a light on how this group has evolved into its modern forms since the Devonian.
![a mammoth tusk in a shallow stream with mountains in the background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vEvPL7AMjM5eyhKfYNdNwH-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Girl discovers 100,000-year-old mammoth bones in Russian river while fishing with dad
By Richard Pallardy published
An 8-year-old girl discovered the bones of a woolly mammoth and a prehistoric bison after a landslide along the banks of a river in western Russia.
![A painting of the now-extinct marsupial Diprotodon.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpCNHUd5u7nnwCgyYD2Fma-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Ancient skeletons of largest-ever marsupial unearthed in Australia
By Patrick Pester published
Diprotodon dates back to the Pleistocene epoch and is a giant relative of wombats and koalas.
![A painting depicting an Early Jurassic scene from the Navajo Sandstone desert preserved at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xUJQGbVMUrYZpJfUubMB6B-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Low water levels in Lake Powell reveal 'extremely rare' fossils from extinct Jurassic mammal relative
By Sascha Pare published
Researchers documenting fossil tracks in March discovered the first tritylodontid fossils ever found in the Navajo Sandstone and rushed to retrieve them before snowmelt replenished Lake Powell.
![An illustration of Neanderthals butchering the freshly killed cave lion from Siegsdorf.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-320-80.png 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-450-80.png 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-500-80.png 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-650-80.png 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-840-80.png 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-970-80.png 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-1024-80.png 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fkq7hmm6tcVgneaQXAuUqP-1200-80.png 1200w)
Oldest evidence of Neanderthals hunting cave lions dates to 48,000 years ago, punctured bones reveal
By Sascha Pare published
Scientists analyzing cave lion bones have discovered the earliest evidence of Neanderthals hunting a cave lion, as well as the oldest example of human relatives using a lion pelt for cultural purposes.
75 million-year-old 'forgotten lord of the oasis' titanosaur fossils from Egypt fill a 'black hole' in dinosaur history
By Cameron Duke published
A newly described titanosaur species, named after an ancient Egyptian deity, fills a gap in our understanding of Africa's dinosaurs.
![A computer generated image of a large long-necked sauropod standing in a clearing](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kAZpWGXZShkMsc98rvitnc-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
Giant never-before-seen long-necked 'titan' dinosaur unearthed in Europe
By Harry Baker published
The newly identified titanosaur, Garumbatitan morellensis, roamed what is now Spain around 122 million years ago. The unusual shape of some of its bones could hold clues about the evolutionary history of a unique group of sauropods.
![Rubidgeinae skull](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-320-80.jpg 320w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-450-80.jpg 450w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-500-80.jpg 500w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-650-80.jpg 650w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-840-80.jpg 840w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMUmMkV2AouaP4yS5JsGmV-1200-80.jpg 1200w)
'They seemed primed to take over': How the Great Dying doomed the 'beast tooth' and set the stage for the dawn of the dinosaurs
By Michael Mann published
This excerpt from Michael Mann's latest book looks at the Cambrian explosion, the Great Dying and how dinosaurs were able to take over thanks to changes to the climate 250 million years ago.
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