Tag: extinction
Report: One-fifth of Mekong River fish face extinction
Unsustainable development has pushed one-fifth of the fish in the Mekong River — the lifeblood of Southeast Asia — to near extinction, according to a new report. While the report paints a bleak picture, there is still time to reverse the damage to the river — if countries work together, says Conservation International freshwater scientist…
Saber teeth in predators evolved many times. Did it lead to their extinction?
By Jonathan Lambert In the history of teeth, perhaps no tooth is as famous as the saber tooth. These long, blade-like canines seem almost perfectly optimized to kill prey. They’ve evolved at least five times in mammals, most notably in the saber-tooth cat Smilodon, who sported serrated sabers that could measure nearly one foot long.…
News spotlight: A quarter of freshwater species face extinction, study finds
A new study is ringing alarm bells for freshwater species, finding nearly a quarter are at risk of extinction. The study, from researchers at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), named dams, farms, invasive species and pollution as responsible for the decline, Julia Jacobo reported for ABC News. The findings are “alarming,”…