Mass Extinction

Key Stage 3

A mass extinction is when a large number of species in a community become extinct at the same time.

A mass extinction is when a large number of species in a community become extinct at the same time.

Since life began on Earth there have been 5 great mass extinctions:

Ordovician–Silurian Extinction - 439 million years ago 86% of life on Earth was made extinct by the climate rapidly cooling.
Devonian Extinction - 364 million years ago 75% of life on Earth was made extinct too many nutrients washed into the oceans causing eutrophication killing sea life.
Permian–Triassic extinction - 251 million years ago 96% of life on Earth was made extinct when volcanic eruptions ignited coal deposits poisoning the atmosphere.
Triassic–Jurassic extinction - Between 199 to 214 million years ago many species became extinct due to a number of events including climate change. This extinction led to the dominance of dinosaurs.
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction - 66 million years ago 76% of life on Earth was made extinct due to an asteroid impact on Earth. This extinction led to the end of dinosaurs and the dominance of mammals.
... Some scientists believe we are in the middle of another mass extinction caused by humans because around 200 species are going extinct every day.