A series of radioactive nuclides in which each member of the series is formed by the decay of the nuclide before it. The series ends with a stable nuclide. Three radioactive series occur naturally, those headed by thorium–232 (thorium series), uranium–235 (actinium series), and uranium–238 (uranium series). All three series end with an isotope of lead. The neptunium series starts with the artificial isotope plutonium–241, which decays to neptunium–237, and ends with bismuth–209. This process may have occurred naturally in the early evolution of the earth, when plutonium may well have occurred naturally; however, all the members of this chain would have decayed long ago.