extinction: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
Assorted References
- ancient echinoderms
- asexual reproduction
- biodiversity loss
- conservation and biodiversity
- endangered species
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- measurement of rhodium and iridium
- prevention by zoos
effect on
- biosphere
- diversification of life
- hunting
- metapopulations
impact of
- amphibian chytridiomycosis
- deforestation
- global warming
- invasive species
- minimum viable population
- plate tectonics
- sixth mass extinction
occurrence during
- Cambrian Period
- Devonian Period
- late Cenozoic Era
- Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary
- Ordovician Period
- Pleistocene Epoch
- Silurian Period
- Triassic Period
termination of
threat to
Additional Reading
Good introductions to extinction are included in David M. Raup, Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? (1991); John H. Lawton and Robert M. May (eds.), Extinction Rates (1995); A. Hallam and P.B. Wignall, Mass Extinctions and Their Aftermath (1997); Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten, A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World’s Extinct Animals (2001); and Millennium Board, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005).
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle Contributors
Primary Contributors
- John L. Gittleman
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Contributors
- Rasoul Shiri
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Extinction. | Aug 21, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 14, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: CiteseerX - Extinction Events Can Accelerate Evolution (PDF). | Feb 15, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Communication - Heading for Extinction: the representation of scientific knowledge in Extinction Rebellion's recruitment talks. | Jun 01, 2024 | ||
| Links added. | Sep 01, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Khan Academy - Biodiversity and extinction, then and now. | Aug 11, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 16, 2023 | ||
| Link added. | Jun 01, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: BCcampus Open Publishing - Extinction. | May 10, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - Extinction as the Loss of Evolutionary History. | Feb 15, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Extinction. | Nov 16, 2022 | ||
| Noted that about 90 percent of all species died out during the Permian extinction. | Nov 15, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: American Museum of Natural History - Six Extinctions: An Overview of the Ends of Species. | Sep 09, 2022 | ||
| Removed text. | Aug 01, 2022 | ||
| Added the audio story “Earth's Acidifying Oceans.” | Mar 31, 2021 | ||
| Noted that by 2020 studies had reported dramatic decreases in wildlife populations worldwide. | Mar 31, 2021 | ||
| New media added. | Feb 01, 2021 | ||
| Added the audio story “The Dark Side of the Plastic Age.” | Dec 03, 2020 | ||
| Added the audio story “Coronavirus Origins and Conservation.” | Aug 27, 2020 | ||
| Changed “more than 7.7 billion in 2019” to “more than 7.8 billion in 2020.” | Aug 27, 2020 | ||
| Added the audio programs “The Demise of the Northern White Rhinoceros” and “Amphibian Apocalypse.” | Jul 07, 2020 | ||
| Added the audio story “Understanding Functional Extinction.” | Jan 29, 2020 | ||
| Added the audio stories “The Precarious State of the Monarch Butterfly” and “The Orangutan Conservation Conundrum.” | Jan 17, 2020 | ||
| Added the audio stories "The Incredible Shrinking World of the Polar Bear" and "Bluefin Tunas and the Problem of Overfishing." | Sep 13, 2019 | ||
| Added the audio story "Losing the Vaquita." | Jul 26, 2019 | ||
| Mentioned the threat of ocean acidification and increasing water temperatures on marine life. Revised the geologic time boundaries of the five mass extinctions. | Feb 05, 2019 | ||
| Replaced map of endangered coral reefs. | Feb 05, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: International Union for Conservation of Nature - Species Extinction - The Facts. | Nov 14, 2018 | ||
| Added photos depicting a Cambrian-age trilobite (Modocia typicalis), orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), and harvested ivory tusks, along with a video on greenhouse gases. | Apr 21, 2017 | ||
| Clarified nature of extinction threats to living species. | Apr 21, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 15, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire - Harry Jol - Causes of Extinction. | Oct 16, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Royal Society Publishing - How Does Climate Change cause Extinction? | Oct 16, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Geographic - Mass Extinctions. | Oct 16, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Extinction. | Aug 16, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Center for Biological Diversity - The Extinction Crisis. | Aug 16, 2016 | ||
| Text added that characterizes the extinction risk to Earth's species given rising surface temperature levels. | Sep 10, 2015 | ||
| Geologic boundary years updated. |
|
Sep 10, 2015 | |
| Added image of a Jamaican flightless ibis. | Mar 07, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - Extinction. | Aug 24, 2011 | ||
| Text added noting the possibility that the K-T extinction resulted from multiple bolide impacts. | Aug 31, 2010 | ||
| Geologic time data updated. | Sep 11, 2009 | ||
| Media added. | Aug 07, 2009 | ||
| Language added to reduce the weight of the asteroid-impact hypothesis as the ultimate cause of the K-T extinction. | Apr 29, 2009 | ||
| Mass extinction events ranked according to severity. The details of each event now mirror those of the individual extinction event articles. | Apr 24, 2009 | ||
| Article thoroughly revised and updated. | Apr 03, 2009 | ||
| New bibliography added. | Apr 03, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Extinction Works. | Feb 09, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - Extinction. | Feb 06, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Extinctanimal.com - Extinct Animals. | Jan 12, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Enchanted Learning - Zoom Dinosaurs. | May 26, 2006 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |
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