Extinction
When no living members of a species remain anywhere on Earth.
Last updated
Analogy
The last copy of a book being destroyed.
In practice
The dodo became extinct after humans arrived on Mauritius and hunted it and brought new animals.
Practice
Flashcards
- Name two causes of extinction.Habitat loss and new predators, diseases or competitors.
Interview questions
- What evidence supports evolution?
- Fossils show gradual change over time
- Antibiotic-resistant bacteria evolve quickly
- Similar DNA in related species
- Extinct species found only in older rock layers
Questions people ask
What causes species to go extinct?
Causes include changes to the environment such as climate change, a new predator or disease, competition from other species, habitat destruction and over-hunting. Natural events like volcanoes or asteroid impacts have caused mass extinctions in the past. Today human activity is a major cause.
How were the dinosaurs wiped out?
Most scientists think a large asteroid hit Earth about 66 million years ago. The impact threw dust into the air, blocking sunlight and changing the climate, and food chains collapsed. Evidence includes a layer of rare metal in rocks from that time and a huge crater in Mexico.