Extinction | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/extinction/RSS feed for ExtinctionenThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:44:24 +0000Scientists Feared the World's Smallest Snake Had Gone Extinct. They Just Found It Againhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-feared-the-worlds-smallest-snake-had-gone-extinct-they-just-found-it-again-180987044/When fully grown, the Barbados threadsnake is only three to four inches long—shorter than many earthwormsThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:44:24 +0000'Nothing Short of Magical': Scientists Discover a Dinosaur Bone Nearly 800 Feet Beneath a Parking Lot at a Denver Museumhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nothing-short-of-magical-scientists-discover-a-dinosaur-bone-nearly-800-feet-beneath-a-parking-lot-at-a-denver-museum-180986967/The partial vertebra appeared inside a 2.5-inch-diameter column of rock that researchers drilled, earning the title of the oldest and deepest dinosaur fossil found in DenverThu, 10 Jul 2025 19:44:42 +0000'Enigmatic' Dog-Sized Dinosaur Reveals a New Species That Scampered Around Jurassic North Americahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/enigmatic-dog-sized-dinosaur-reveals-a-new-species-that-scampered-around-jurassic-north-america-180986895/The speedy, plant-eating creature lived in what is now Colorado roughly 150 million years ago, and its skeleton went on display in London this weekFri, 27 Jun 2025 20:01:06 +0000These Lizards Mysteriously Survived the Asteroid Strike That Killed the Dinosaurs—and Their Descendants Are Still Alive Todayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-lizards-mysteriously-survived-the-asteroid-strike-that-killed-the-dinosaursand-their-descendants-are-still-alive-today-180986879/Small and elusive night lizards probably persisted because they have slow metabolisms and like to hide out in rock crevices, a new study suggestsWed, 25 Jun 2025 20:21:11 +000014,000-Year-Old 'Puppies' Found in Siberia Were Wolf Littermates Who Dined on Woolly Rhinohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/14000-year-old-puppies-found-in-siberia-were-young-wolf-littermates-who-dined-on-wooly-rhino-180986834/Researchers studied chemicals found in the animals’ bones, teeth and tissues, as well as genetic material from their stomach contentsTue, 17 Jun 2025 18:31:10 +0000Scientists Are Using Drones to Unleash Thousands of Mosquitoes in Hawaii in a Bid to Save Native Birds. Here's How It Workshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-are-using-drones-to-unleash-thousands-of-mosquitoes-in-hawaii-in-a-bid-to-save-native-birds-heres-how-it-works-180986821/The lab-raised, non-biting male mosquitoes are meant to breed with the invasive ones on the islands and produce sterile eggs that will help suppress avian malariaMon, 16 Jun 2025 19:24:04 +0000Journey Into a Prehistoric Cave That Trapped and Entombed Animals for Millenniahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/journey-into-a-prehistoric-cave-that-trapped-and-entombed-animals-for-millennia-180986775/The animals that plummeted 85 feet into Wyoming’s Natural Trap Cave provide a layered history of life dating back to the PleistoceneThu, 12 Jun 2025 11:00:15 +0000The Fearsome Megalodon Ate Basically Whatever It Wanted to Reach Its Daily 100,000-Calorie Need, Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-fearsome-megalodon-ate-basically-whatever-it-wanted-to-reach-its-daily-100000-calorie-need-study-suggests-180986712/Scientists previously assumed the giant, prehistoric sharks mostly feasted on whales, but it turns out they probably weren’t so pickyThu, 29 May 2025 20:18:32 +0000