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 ...

Paleontologists recognize five big mass extinctions in the fossil record, marked by the loss of a significant number of species in a (geologically speaking) short span of time. Theories to explain ...

Meara covers streaming service news for CNET. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. When she's not writing, she likes to dote over her cat, sip black coffee ...

Nearly all life that ever existed on Earth eventually disappeared. Five known mass extinctions wiped out up to 96 percent of species in sudden, catastrophic events. While mainstream science favored ...

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It has been 50 years since the Endangered Species Act became law, undoubtedly changing the trajectory of species throughout the United States. Conservationists are documenting tremendous progress, but ...

New research reveals more information about the first and oldest of the 'big five' extinctions. Around 85% of marine species, most of which lived in shallow oceans near continents, disappeared during ...

Pacific lamprey are not endearing at first glance. The most striking feature of their almost featureless bodies is their soul-boring cobalt-blue eyes. But what you can never unsee is the “oral disc,” ...