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Extinction is the termination of a taxon by the death of its last member. A taxon may become functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to reproduce and recover. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively.
Feb 5, 2019 · Learn what extinction is, how it happens, and why it matters. Explore the history and causes of mass extinctions, and the current threats to biodiversity.
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- 32 orchid species in Bangladesh—One of the first papers of 2020 to report any extinctions announced the probable loss of 17 percent of Bangladesh’s 187 known orchid species.
- Smooth handfish (Sympterichthys unipennis)—One of the few extinctions of 2020 that received much media attention, and it’s easy to see why. Handfish are an unusual group of species whose front fins look somewhat like human appendages, which they use to walk around the ocean floor.
- 65 North American plants—This past year researchers set out to determine how many plants in the continental United States had been lost. They catalogued 65, including five small trees, eight shrubs, 37 perennial herbs and 15 annual herbs.
- 22 frog species—The IUCN this year declared nearly two dozen long-unseen Central and South American frog species as “critically endangered (possibly extinct)”—victims of the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus.
Oct 19, 2023 · Learn about the process and causes of extinction, the dying out of a species, and its role in evolution. Explore the history of five mass extinctions and the current threat of a sixth one due to human activities.
Jun 25, 2024 · Extinction is the dying out or extermination of a species, which can occur due to environmental or evolutionary factors. Learn about the different types of extinction, the causes of human-induced extinction, and the examples of extinct and endangered species from Britannica.
Learn the meaning, synonyms, examples, and history of the word extinct, which can be an adjective or a verb. Extinct means no longer existing, such as an extinct animal or a volcano.
Sep 22, 2023 · Some have been extinct for thousands to millions of years as a part of evolution and the gradual changes on Earth. Numerous animals have gone extinct in recent years after struggling with habitat loss, invasive species, diseases, or other factors.
