Nature & Environment

Scientists: 'extinction not always bad thing'

By T.K. Randall
January 28, 2013 ·  14 comments

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons The extinction of a species is generally considered to be a disaster, however researchers at the Natural History Museum in London are putting together a new exhibit to demonstrate the potential good that can come from such an occurrence. More than 99% of the animal species that ever lived on Earth are now extinct and many of those paved the way for new types of animals to evolve into the niches these extinctions left behind.

Recreations of 80 extinct species will be included in the exhibit due to open later this month, each picked to highlight the way in which extinctions affect life elsewhere on the planet. It is believed that if the dinosaurs had not died out, for instance, that mammals and birds would have never had the chance to dominate and as a result, humans may never have existed at all.[!gad]The extinction of a species is generally considered to be a disaster, however researchers at the Natural History Museum in London are putting together a new exhibit to demonstrate the potential good that can come from such an occurrence. More than 99% of the animal species that ever lived on Earth are now extinct and many of those paved the way for new types of animals to evolve into the niches these extinctions left behind.

Recreations of 80 extinct species will be included in the exhibit due to open later this month, each picked to highlight the way in which extinctions affect life elsewhere on the planet. It is believed that if the dinosaurs had not died out, for instance, that mammals and birds would have never had the chance to dominate and as a result, humans may never have existed at all.

Source: Telegraph | Comments (14)

Tags: