Ausgestorbenen

Ausgestorbenen is a German term that appears as the plural declined form of the adjective ausgestorben, meaning extinct. It is most commonly seen before a plural noun with a definite article: die ausgestorbenen Arten (the extinct species). The form can also be used as a noun when capitalized as Ausgestorbene, referring collectively to extinct organisms.

Grammar and usage: The base is ausgestorben, the past participle of aussterben. As an adjective, it takes different endings depending on number, case, and article. With a definite article in plural, the form is ausgestorbenen in phrases like den ausgestorbenen Arten or die ausgestorbenen Arten. In bare plural without an article, one writes ausgestorbene Arten. In singular, man writes eine ausgestorbene Art or die ausgestorbene Art.

Contexts: In biology and paleontology, ausgestorbene Arten are species whose last individuals have died, leaving no living descendants. The term contrasts with aussterbend (becoming extinct) and with taxa that are endangered but may still persist. It is used in conservation discussions, biodiversity research, and historical analyses of extinction events, including mass extinctions, biogeography, and the fossil record.

Examples: The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) and the woolly rhinoceros (Elasmotherium sibiricum) are often cited as ausgestorbene Arten. In German-language scientific writing and popular science, the phrase Ausgestorbene Arten commonly appears when listing or discussing extinct groups, while allgemeine references to extinction use the verb aussterben or the adjective ausgestorben in singular contexts.