Key Stage 3
Meaning
Extinction is when all the members of a species die.
About Extinction
- Extinction can be caused by a number of factors:
- A sudden change in temperature.
- A loss of habitat
- A food source disappearing.
- An isolated community comes in contact with another.
- Pollution
Examples
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| Orthoceras lived until 485 million years ago. When the oceans became too cold it became extinct | The Woolly Mammoth became extinct when it lost its habitat at the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. | Haast's Eagle was the biggest eagle to ever exist, but it became extinct when humans killed all of its prey. |
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| The Dodo lived on a small island with no predators to kill it. When humans arrived, rats came with them and ate all the dodo eggs making them extinct. | 272 million years ago the atmosphere became polluted with hydrogen sulphide gas, causing all the dimetrodons to suffocate, making them extinct. |