Extinctions

The first of five great mass extinctions was the Ordovician-Silurian extinction. Its possible cause was the intense glaciation of Gondwana, which eventually led to a snowball earth. 60% of marine invertebrates became extinct and 25% of all families.

The second mass extinction was the Late Devonian extinction, probably caused by the evolution of trees, which could have led to the depletion of greenhouse gases (like CO2) or the eutrophication of water. 70% of all species became extinct.

The third mass extinction was the Permian-Triassic, or the Great Dying, event was possibly caused by some combination of the Siberian Trapsvolcanic event, an asteroid impact, methane hydrate gasification, sea level fluctuations, and a major anoxic event. Either the proposed Wilkes Land craterin Antarctica or Bedout structure off the northwest coast of Australia may indicate an impact connection with the Permian-Triassic extinction. But it remains uncertain whether either these or other proposed Permian-Triassic boundary craters are either real impact craters or even contemporaneous with the Permian-Triassic extinction event. This was by far the deadliest extinction ever, with about 57% of all families and 83% of all generakilled.

The fourth mass extinction was the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event in which almost all synapsids and archosaurs became extinct, probably due to new competition from dinosaurs.

The fifth and most recent mass extinction was the K-T extinction. In 66 Ma, a 10-kilometer (6.2 mi) asteroidstruck Earth just off the Yucatán Peninsula—somewhere in the south western tip of then Laurasia—where the Chicxulub crater is today. This ejected vast quantities of particulate matter and vapor into the air that occluded sunlight, inhibiting photosynthesis. 75% of all life, including the non-avian dinosaurs, became extinct,marking the end of the Cretaceous period and Mesozoic era.