Permian-Triassic extinction Archives - State of the Planet

Study Bolsters Volcanic Theory of Ancient Extinction

A team of scientists has found new evidence to bolster the idea that the Permian Extinction, which occurred 252 million years ago, was caused by massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia.

by |October 4, 2017
early Triassic, Image: Sun et al. 2012, Science

Some Do Not Like It Hot

The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic!
(In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …)
As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic,
When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

by |May 30, 2014
Paraceraurus trilobite, Ordovician, from the Volchow River, Russia. Photo: Vassil/Alias Collections.

Lords of the Past

With life, legged and finned, Earth had been teeming,
Slitherers, predators, graceful trees tall …
Now, of these species, we are only dreaming:
Glossopteris, trilobites, eurypterids, all.

by |April 11, 2014