Ice Ice Baby

Illustrations of skeletons done by Matt Davis.

Ever wonder why certain animals went extinct instead of others (I, for one, wish mosquitoes had just died off and left me alone)? There still is no solid reason, but former National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) fellow Matt Davis has found that distinct species are just as likely to go extinct as species without unique traits. This was acceptable in the Ice Age, when other species with similar roles could replace lost species, but we lack the numbers to replace vulnerable species today.

To find out what effect this may have on our environment today and why it matters, check out Science Daily‘s recent article on Davis’s work here.