extinct

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Only 18 Red Wolves Exist in the US Wild. Rescue Efforts Are on

FWS expert says it's 'a serious roller coaster' to save the endangered species from cars, guns

(Newser) - Red wolves used to frolic throughout the eastern United States, their habitats stretching from Pennsylvania to Texas. Now, there are fewer than two dozen left in the wild, settled in a handful of counties in northeastern North Carolina. Experts are trying their best to save the endangered canine from extinction,...

In Prehistoric Fossils, a Surprising Find on Aging
In Prehistoric Fossils,
a Surprising Find on Aging
NEW STUDY
Jul 26, 2024 12:20 PM CDT

In Prehistoric Fossils, a Surprising Find on Aging

Mouselike mammals lived a lot longer than modern-day counterparts, say scientists

(Newser) - Two sets of fossils found 40-something years apart suggest that small mammals who lived during the mid-Jurassic period had a longer "childhood" and a more stretched-out life span than their contemporary counterparts. The new research published Wednesday in the journal Nature examined the fossilized remains of Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis, a...

Scientists Find Evidence of 'Age of Monotremes'
Scientists Find Evidence
of 'Age of Monotremes'
NEW STUDY
May 28, 2024 10:50 AM CDT

Scientists Find Evidence of 'Age of Monotremes'

A diversity of platypus-like creatures roamed Australia some 100M years ago

(Newser) - There are exactly five existing egg-laying mammals, or monotremes: the platypus and four echidna species, all native to Australia and New Guinea. According to new research, they're the last survivors of a diverse set of species that roamed the southern continents during the time of the dinosaurs. The Lightning...

This Feather Is Worth 40 Times Its Weight in Gold

Feather from extinct huia sells for $28K, becoming most expensive feather ever sold

(Newser) - Someone just paid nearly $30,000 for ... a feather. Granted, it's a rare and pretty feather, but still one worth more than 40 times its weight in gold. The most expensive feather ever sold, it comes from the long-extinct huia, "the largest of New Zealand's wattlebird species,...

In Indonesia's Jungles, a Hunt for an Extinct Beast

Genetic tests on a single hair suggest Javan tiger may still roam Java

(Newser) - In Indonesia, the hunt is on for a tiger thought to have gone extinct some four decades ago. The Javan tiger, native to the island of Java, was last officially spotted in the 1980s and declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2008. But there have...

These Baby Names Are Going Down the Tubes
These Baby Names
May Soon Be 'Extinct'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 27, 2024 6:00 AM CST

These Baby Names May Soon Be 'Extinct'

According to BabyCenter, certain names have dropped significantly in popularity

(Newser) - If you know a Brooke, Blake, Brady, or Bradley, offer them either condolences or a big congrats—they may soon claim a pretty rare first name. BabyCenter offers an annual "most popular" baby names list, but the company also sifted through the data to find the names that seem...

21 Species Off Endangered List—Because They're Extinct

US Fish and Wildlife Service pulls 10 bird species, 8 types of mussels, 2 fish, 1 fruit bat

(Newser) - Twenty-one animals have been removed from the Endangered Species Act because, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, they're not endangered—they're extinct. The majority of the species—10 types of birds, eight types of mussels, two species of fish, and one type of bat—were listed...

Scientists Aim to Give the Dodo a 2nd Chance

Colossal Biosciences will try to bring back the flightless bird

(Newser) - A Texas-based biosciences startup's plan to bring back a wolf-like animal that's thought to have gone extinct in 1936 seems quaint when stacked against its latest plan: to de-extinct a bird that last walked the earth in the late 1600s. Colossal Biosciences on Tuesday said it will endeavor...

Seeing This Image Was 'Most Surreal Moment of My Life'
Seeing This Image
Was 'Most Surreal
Moment of My Life'
in case you missed it
Nov 26, 2022 1:00 PM CST

Seeing This Image Was 'Most Surreal Moment of My Life'

Scientists capture footage of black-naped pheasant-pigeon for first time since 1882

(Newser) - The researchers had to gun it in their boat to outrun pirates after departing Fergusson Island off of Papua New Guinea. But as the BBC tells it, the likely adrenaline rush that produced may have been dwarfed by the one they experienced on the island itself. The eight-person team in...

India Brings Back the Only Large Mammal It Has Lost

The country reintroduces cheetahs some 75 years after they were hunted to extinction

(Newser) - Cheetahs were hunted into extinction 75 years ago in India, making them "the only large mammal that India has lost," said a conservation expert in the country. "It is our moral and ethical responsibility to bring them back." On Saturday that responsibility was fulfilled, with eight...

Giant Tortoise Presumed Extinct for a Century Is Very Much Alive

Fernanda is first fantastic giant tortoise seen in Galapagos since 1906, and only the 2nd ever

(Newser) - A Galapagos giant tortoise species observed only once more than a century ago on a remote volcanic island and thought to have gone extinct as a result of volcanic eruptions has turned up very much alive. A female "fantastic giant tortoise," which the Guardian reports is "significantly...

Most Americans Don't Want a Real-Life Jurassic Park

Majority are against bringing dinosaurs back from extinction, if that were an option, per YouGov poll

(Newser) - If you've ever fantasized about a world in which T. rex once more roamed the Earth, you're in a small minority. YouGov recently surveyed 2,000 American adults on how they felt about helping save endangered species, or even bringing back extinct ones, and the majority answered that...

Our Vision of Legendary Shark Is Flawed
Our Vision of Legendary
Shark Is Flawed
NEW STUDY
Feb 10, 2022 2:03 PM CST

Our Vision of Legendary Shark Is Flawed

Researchers say we actually don't know what giant megalodon looked like

(Newser) - We know Otodus megalodon was a massive shark, about three times as long as the largest great white shark ever recorded. But we don't know much else about the appearance of the beast that swam around Earth's oceans between 3.6 million and 15 million years ago, despite...

For 23 Endangered Species, All Hope Is Now Gone

Ivory-billed woodpecker, nearly 2 dozen other species have been declared extinct by US

(Newser) - Wednesday is set to be a sad day for nearly two dozen endangered species, with all hope gone that we'll ever see them again. Federal wildlife authorities are expected to announce that the ivory-billed woodpecker, Bachman's warbler, and 20 other animals, as well as one plant, are now...

Say Goodbye to a Rather Odd Fish
Say Goodbye
to a Rather
Odd Fish
Jul 19, 2020 2:40 PM CDT

Say Goodbye to a Rather Odd Fish

The smooth handfish has been declared extinct

(Newser) - A fish you've likely never heard of is already gone. The smooth handfish—which stood out with its protruding eyes, mohawk-ish head fin, and ability to walk on its pelvic and pectoral fins—has been declared extinct, LiveScience reports. Experts say it's the first marine fish to die...

Giant Parrot 'Squawkzilla' Is a First-of-Its-Kind Find

Extinct bird was more than half the height of an average human

(Newser) - Researchers believe they've found the largest known parrot to ever inhabit our planet, and it just happens to be about twice the size of the parrot it now dethrones. While the critically endangered kakapo of New Zealand can weigh close to 8 pounds, Heracles inexpectatus weighed an estimated 15....

'Incredibly Rare': Extinct Wolf DNA Turns Up in Texas

Canines on Galveston Island could be red wolf-coyote hybrid

(Newser) - The red wolf was declared effectively extinct in the American wild almost 40 years ago, but, like the Neanderthal, it lives on in descendants still thriving today. That's the welcome discovery revealed in a study in Genes , which found a substantial amount of red wolf DNA in two road-kill...

Museum Shocked to Discover Giant Egg in Collection Is Real

It's one of fewer than 40 elephant bird eggs held by public institutions

(Newser) - The Buffalo Museum of Science has been sitting on a rare find. A collections manager with the museum discovered an elephant bird egg nestled away in a cabinet for more than half a century and erroneously labeled as a cast. The egg is 1 foot long, more than 2 feet...

Study of Famous Dodo Reveals Surprise Death

Oxford's specimen was shot in the back of the head, scan reveals

(Newser) - Scientists used the latest forensic scanning technology to look inside the world's most famous dodo specimen in the hope of learning more about the anatomy of the bird that went extinct on Mauritius 350 years ago. "In our wildest dreams we never expected to find what we did,...

People Now Getting Ivory Fix From Woolly Mammoths

But the hunt in Siberia is taking a toll

(Newser) - The hunt is on for frozen tusks from the extinct woolly mammoth, and NPR reports that it's making people rich in otherwise poor regions of Siberia. But it's also taking a devastating toll on the landscape, according to a photographer who embedded with hunters for three weeks. "...

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