Editing Extinction (section)

{{Short description|Termination of an organism by the death of its last member}}
{{Redirect|Extinct|other uses|Extinct (disambiguation)|and|Extinction (disambiguation)|lists|Lists of extinct species}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{multiple image |caption_align=center |align=right |direction=vertical |image1=Thylacinus cynocephalus (Gould).jpg |width1=150px |caption1=The [[thylacine]] (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an example of a recently extinct [[species]].|image2=Museum of Natural History Palaeotherium magnum.jpg |width2=150px |caption2=''[[Palaeotherium]]'' is an example of an extinct [[genus]] that is only recorded from fossil records before the existence of [[hominid]]s.}}
{{Conservation status}}
{{Evolutionary biology}}

'''Extinction''' is the termination of an [[organism]] by the [[death]] of its [[Endling|last member]]. A [[taxon]] may become [[Functional extinction|functionally extinct]] before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to [[Reproduction|reproduce]] and recover. As a [[species]]' potential [[Range (biology)|range]] may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as [[Lazarus taxon|Lazarus taxa]], where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the [[Fossil|fossil record]]) after a period of apparent absence.

Over five billion species<ref name=":0">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-94-011-5874-9_7 |chapter=How do rare species avoid extinction? A paleontological view |title=The Biology of Rarity |year=1997 |last1=McKinney |first1=Michael L. |pages=110–129 |isbn=978-94-010-6483-5 |editor1-last=Kunin |editor1-first=W. E. |editor2-last=Gaston |editor2-first=K. J. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LHnCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 |access-date=26 May 2015 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203051637/https://books.google.com/books?id=4LHnCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 |url-status=live}}</ref> are estimated to have [[died]] out.<ref name="Jablonski2004">{{cite journal |title=Extinction: past and present |last=Jablonski |first=D. |journal=Nature |year=2004 |volume=427 |issue=6975 |page=589 |doi=10.1038/427589a |pmid=14961099 |bibcode=2004Natur.427..589J |s2cid=4412106 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="StearnsStearns2000">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=Beverly Peterson |last2=Stearns |first2=S.C. |last3=Stearns |first3=Stephen C. |title=Watching, from the Edge of Extinction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0BHeC-tXIB4C&q=99%20percent |year=2000 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-08469-6 |page=preface x |access-date=30 May 2017 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203051614/https://books.google.com/books?id=0BHeC-tXIB4C&q=99%20percent |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20141108-MJN">{{cite news |last=Novacek |first=Michael J. |author-link=Michael J. Novacek |title=Prehistory's Brilliant Future |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/prehistorys-brilliant-future.html |date=8 November 2014 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2014-12-25 |archive-date=29 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229225657/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/prehistorys-brilliant-future.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Newman" /> It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7&nbsp;million species of [[eukaryote]]s globally,<ref name="PLoSbiologyspeciescensus">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |title=How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean? |year=2011 |last1=Mora |first1=Camilo |last2=Tittensor |first2=Derek P. |last3=Adl |first3=Sina |last4=Simpson |first4=Alastair G. B. |last5=Worm |first5=Boris |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=9 |issue=8 |pages=e1001127 |pmid=21886479 |pmc=3160336 |doi-access=free}}</ref> possibly many times more if [[microorganism]]s are included.<ref name="NSF-2016002">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Researchers find that Earth may be home to one trillion species |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=138446 |date=2 May 2016 |work=[[National Science Foundation]] |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=4 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504111108/https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=138446 |url-status=live}}</ref> Notable extinct animal species include [[Dinosaur|non-avian dinosaurs]], [[Machairodontinae|saber-toothed cats]], and [[mammoth]]s. Through [[evolution]], species arise through the process of [[speciation]]. Species become extinct when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior [[Competition (biology)|competition]]. The relationship between animals and their ecological niches has been firmly established.<ref name="SahneyBentonFerry2010LinksDiversityVertebrates">{{cite journal |last1=Sahney |first1=S. |last2=Benton |first2=M.J. |last3=Ferry |first3=P.A. |year=2010 |title=Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land |journal=Biology Letters |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024 |volume=6 |pages=544–547 |issue=4 |pmid=20106856 |pmc=2936204}}</ref> A typical species becomes extinct within 10&nbsp;million years of its first appearance,<ref name="Newman">{{cite journal |last1=Newman |first1=Mark |year=1997 |title=''A model of mass extinction'' |journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology |volume=189 |issue=3 |pages=235–252 |doi=10.1006/jtbi.1997.0508 |pmid=9441817 |arxiv=adap-org/9702003 |bibcode=1997JThBi.189..235N |s2cid=9892809}}</ref> although some species, called [[living fossil]]s, survive with little to no [[morphology (biology)|morphological]] change for hundreds of millions of years.

[[Extinction event|Mass extinctions]] are relatively rare events; however, isolated extinctions of species and clades are quite common, and are a natural part of the evolutionary process.<ref name="Sudakow2022">{{cite journal |last1=Sudakow |first1=Ivan |last2=Myers |first2=Corinne |last3=Petrovskii |first3=Sergei |last4=Sumrall |first4=Colin D. |last5=Witts |first5=James |date=July 2022 |title=Knowledge gaps and missing links in understanding mass extinctions: Can mathematical modeling help? |journal=Physics of Life Reviews |volume=41 |pages=22–57 |doi=10.1016/j.plrev.2022.04.001 |pmid=35523056 |bibcode=2022PhLRv..41...22S |s2cid=248215038 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Only recently have extinctions been recorded with scientists alarmed at the [[Holocene extinction#Contemporary extinction|current high rate of extinctions]].<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite news |title=Species disappearing at an alarming rate, report says |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6502368 |work=NBC News |date=17 November 2004 |access-date=9 February 2022 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209131517/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6502368 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|z9gHuAwxwAs|The Sixth Extinction}} ([[PBS Digital Studios]], November 17, 2014)</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Barnosky |first3=Anthony D. |author-link3=Anthony David Barnosky |last4=García |first4=Andrés |last5=Pringle |first5=Robert M. |last6=Palmer |first6=Todd M. |year=2015 |title=Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction |journal=[[Science Advances]] |volume=1 |issue=5 |page=e1400253 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1400253 |pmid=26601195 |pmc=4640606 |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0253C}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ripple WJ, Wolf C, Newsome TM, Galetti M, Alamgir M, Crist E, Mahmoud MI, Laurance WF |title=World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice |journal=[[BioScience]] |date=13 November 2017 |volume=67 |issue=12 |pages=1026–1028 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix125 |quote=Moreover, we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century. |title-link=World Scientists' Warning to Humanity |doi-access=free |hdl=11336/71342 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cowie |first1=Robert H. |last2=Bouchet |first2=Philippe |last3=Fontaine |first3=Benoît |title=The Sixth Mass Extinction: fact, fiction or speculation? |journal=Biological Reviews |date=10 January 2022 |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=640–663 |doi=10.1111/brv.12816 |pmid=35014169 |pmc=9786292 |s2cid=245889833 |url=https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03525883/document |doi-access=free |access-date=9 February 2022 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209132106/https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03525883/document |url-status=live}}</ref> Most species that become extinct are never scientifically documented. Some scientists estimate that up to half of presently existing plant and animal species may become extinct by 2100.<ref name="Wilson">[[E.O. Wilson|Wilson, E.O.]], ''The Future of Life'' (2002) ({{ISBN|0-679-76811-4}}). See also: [[Richard Leakey|Leakey, Richard]], ''The Sixth Extinction : Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind'', {{ISBN|0-385-46809-1}}</ref> A 2018 report indicated that the [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic diversity]] of 300 mammalian species erased during the human era since the [[Late Pleistocene]] would require 5 to 7&nbsp;million years to recover.<ref name="davis2018">{{cite journal |pmid=30322924 |pmc=6217385 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1804906115 |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci |year=2018 |volume=115 |issue=44 |pages=11262–11267 |title=Mammal diversity will take millions of years to recover from the current biodiversity crisis |vauthors=Davis M, Faurby S, Svenning JC |bibcode=2018PNAS..11511262D |doi-access=free}}</ref>

According to the 2019 ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' by [[IPBES]], the biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82%, natural ecosystems have lost about half their area and a million species are at risk of extinction—all largely as a result of human actions. Twenty-five percent of plant and animal species are [[Threatened species|threatened]] with extinction.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watts |first=Jonathan |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-date=14 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614160705/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20190506">{{cite news |last=Plumer |first=Brad |title=Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an 'Unprecedented' Pace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html |date=May 6, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-date=14 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614201836/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="IPBES-20190506">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Media Release: Nature's Dangerous Decline 'Unprecedented'; Species Extinction Rates 'Accelerating' |url=https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment |date=May 6, 2019 |work=[[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] |access-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-date=14 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614220133/https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment |url-status=live}}</ref> In a subsequent report, IPBES listed unsustainable fishing, hunting and logging as being some of the primary drivers of the global extinction crisis.<ref>{{cite news |last=Briggs |first=Helen |date=July 8, 2022 |title=Unsustainable logging, fishing and hunting 'driving extinction' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62094405 |work=BBC |location= |access-date=August 2, 2022 |archive-date=1 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801105751/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62094405 |url-status=live}}</ref>  In June 2019, one million species of plants and animals were at risk of extinction. At least 571 plant species have been lost since 1750. The main cause of the extinctions is the destruction of natural habitats by human activities, such as cutting down forests and converting land into fields for farming.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/10/frightening-number-of-plant-extinctions-found-in-global-survey |title='Frightening' number of plant extinctions found in global survey |website=The Guardian |date=10 June 2019 |access-date=11 June 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422133201/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/10/frightening-number-of-plant-extinctions-found-in-global-survey |url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[Dagger (mark)|dagger symbol]] (†) placed next to the name of a species or other taxon normally indicates its status as extinct.

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