Wild and Weird

It appears to have been wiped out by pollution, development and illegal mining by “sand mafias.” Will other plants soon follow?

The ancestors of the newly described Heath’s tick date back to the time of the dinosaurs, but climate change and invasive species could soon wipe the tick out.

Healthy parasites are one sign of a healthy ecosystem, but there’s a lot more to them than that.

The death of a snail named George on New Year’s Day marked the extinction of his species. Saving the rest of Hawaii’s unique snails is a race against time — but not one without hope.

After decades of rumors and searches, the existence of a two-foot-long amphibian called “the reticulated siren” has finally been confirmed.

When something dies in nature, it becomes part of a system that gives life. Can humans re-embrace the same concept?

A bid to remove the bird from the Endangered Species Act has emerged once again — long after the disappearance of the organization that proposed its removal.

The “6th Extinction” card deck offers you a chance to lean about lost species — while playing poker.

The extinction of the Christmas Island flea — and the current risk to other parasites — shows a major gap in conservation efforts.

Books coming out this month also examine endangered languages, the lingering effects of colonialism and how war hurts the environment.