Mass extinction events represent intervals of abrupt, large‐scale loss of biodiversity that have repeatedly reshaped life on Earth. These crises are commonly linked to dramatic environmental ...

Our planet’s first known mass extinction happened about 440 million years ago. Species diversity on Earth had been increasing over a period of roughly 30 million years, but that would come to a halt ...

Speciation and extinction are the twin engines that have sculpted the diversity of life on Earth. Speciation, the process by which new species arise from ancestral populations, is driven by a mixture ...

About 445 million years ago, Earth’s oceans turned into a danger zone. Glaciers spread across the supercontinent Gondwana, ...

Around 540 million years ago, Earth's biosphere underwent a pivotal transformation, shifting from a microbe-dominated world to one teeming with animal ...

An artist's reconstruction of the two tardigrade species found preserved in a pebble-sized piece of amber in Canada. Franz Anthony via Communications Biology under CC BY 4.0 Tardigrades are known for ...

This lineage was widespread and abundant in the Late Cretaceous, but just a few species survive today off the coasts of Australia. If you’re an animal living through a mass extinction, it’s best to be ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. While life on Earth does usually find a way, it is not without ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Life on Earth is anything but predictable. For evidence, ...

Mass extinction sounds scary, but it’s basically nature’s biggest reset button. Throughout Earth’s history, there have been five major events where huge numbers of species disappeared quickly, and ...

We may not be living through Earth’s sixth mass extinction event ­­— at least not yet. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of plant and animal extinctions published September 4 in PLOS Biology.

Extinction is inevitable. Expected. Almost all (99%) species that have ever existed have died out. Those disappearances have largely occurred at consistent background rates. But in the context of mass ...