Extinct Species, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2004

Close Human Relative Nearly Extinct

A close relative to the chimpanzee that is thought to be the closest human relative may be on the verge of extinction, scientists say. Bonobos, or pygmy chimpanzees, have been hunted so extensively that their survival is at risk, warn officials at the World Wildlife Fund. The world could soon...

Apr 30, 2005

Good Science? Announcement of Dino Discovery Delayed to Promote 'Jurassic Park' Sequel

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) _ A paleontologist who consulted on the Jurassic Park'' movies acknowledged that he delayed the announcement of a dinosaur find in Montana at the studio's request to help promote one of the film sequels four years ago. The acknowledgment by Jack Horner was in response to a...

Dec 31, 2004

Dinosaurs Mingled with Cousins of Ducks and Chickens

Evolutionary cousins of chickens and ducks roamed the Earth with dinosaurs more than 65 millions years ago, according to a new study that runs counter to a key assumption about when birds got their footing on the planet. The newly identified bird species, Vegavis iaai, lived during the Cretaceous period...

Oct 31, 2006

Greatest Mass Extinction Gave Oceans a Face Lift

The largest extinction in Earth's history not only wiped out 95 percent of sea creatures and 70 percent of land animals, it also gave the oceans a fundamental face lift, according to a new study. Before the end-Permian mass extinction 250 million years ago, the seas were home to a...

Aug 31, 2006

Unknown Dinosaurs: Golden Age of Discovery Ahead

The next several decades could prove a golden age for dinosaur hunters looking to discover new species of the ancient reptiles. A new statistical analysis predicts that more than 1,300 unique dinosaur genera await discovery by paleontologists. In biology, a genus is an organizational group made up of one or...

Jun 30, 2006

Big Dinosaurs Were Hot, Study Suggests

A new study helps answer a longstanding dinosaur mystery by revealing that the largest dinosaurs could likely maintain warm body temperatures while their smaller cousins were probably more similar to modern cold-blooded reptiles. Scientists have debated the body temperature of dinos for years, mainly whether the beasts were cold-blooded ectotherms,...

Feb 28, 2006

Scientists Debate Dinosaur Demise

The ancient asteroid that slammed into the Gulf of Mexico and purportedly ended the reign of the dinosaurs occurred 300,000 years too early, according to a controversial new analysis of melted rock ejected from the impact site. The standard theory states that a giant asteroid about 6 miles wide smashed...

Jan 31, 2006

Oldest Known Tyrannosaur Found

Paleontologists have unearthed two fossilized dinosaurs believed to be the oldest ancestors of the tyrannosaur family, researchers announced today. The new species had cranial crests and were likely covered in feathers, but were only a third the size of their famous cousin, Tyrannosaurus rex. Still, the discovery sets back the...

Oct 31, 2007

Giant Dinosaur Skeleton Found in Museum Drawers

A curator has rediscovered a nearly complete giant Barosaurus skeleton hidden for years in museum drawers. The skeleton was pieced together from an array of giant bones now known to belong to an 80-foot-long (24 meters) dinosaur whose footsteps shook the Earth some 150 million years ago. The Barosaurus skeleton...

Sep 30, 2007

Polar Dinosaurs Left Their Tracks

Newly discovered footprints made by carnivorous dinosaurs in Australia reveal the ancient beasts survived in polar climes when the outback was still joined to Antarctica and close to the South Pole. The discovery of the three fossil tracks, each about 14 inches (36 centimeters) long and showing two to three...

Aug 31, 2007

Tiny Dino Was Ready to Fly

Remains of a petite dinosaur reveal that some of the ancestors of birds had already shrunk in size before flight evolved. The dinosaur, a mere 2 feet long (70 centimeters) and weighing the equivalent of two cans of soda, roamed the Earth 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous period...

Jun 30, 2007

Earth's Worst Extinction a Prolonged Event

The rise of mollusks across the globe was a harbinger of doom roughly 250 million years ago, ushering in the most devastating mass extinction in Earth's history, research now reveals. This clammy conclusion suggests the disaster was long in coming, as opposed to the result of a more catastrophic extraterrestrial...

May 31, 2007

Dinosaurs Died Agonizing Deaths

Fossilized dinosaurs often have wide-open mouths, heads thrown back and tails that curve toward the head. Paleontologists have long assumed the dinosaurs died in water and the currents drifted the bones into that position, or that rigor mortis or drying muscles, tendons and ligaments contorted the limbs. I'm reading this...

May 31, 2007

Meep-Meep! 'Road Runner' Dino Discovered

Skeletal remains from a 220-million-year-old dinosaur reveal a prehistoric road runner of sorts, whose svelte figure and long legs allowed it to evade predators lickety-split. The creature stood about 12 inches tall at the hips and weighed just 4.4 pounds. Its head-to-tail length was about 3 feet, with about half...

Feb 28, 2007

Dino Bones Reveal DNA Surprise

The distinction between birds and the dinosaurs from which they evolved is getting even murkier. The genomes (complete DNA sequences) of both groups are short, researchers now say. Scientists used to think that relatively shorter genomes were associated with flight. Birds have short genomes compared to other vertebrates, or animals...