Fun Hint: Stare at the Earth Maps on the left side of the picture. Focus your eyes on one point of the screen. Scroll up and down; you'll see the world changing before your eyes!
Mass Extinctions
There were three major extinctions throughout the Phanerozoic eon. The first was the greatest of all; the Permian extinction, when the percentage of extinction soared over the dinosaurs-90% of all life died! Only certain hardy plants and small, tough rodent-like creatures made it through. At the time, the super-continent Pangaea had become a massive, sweltering desert, killing off organisms by lack of water and food. If it had continued, life on Earth might had faded away completely!
The second extinction is a very popular one. At the end of the Mesozoic, the dinosaurs suddenly disappeared, along with many other gigantic reptiles. There are many theories to how they died, but the most popular one is the theory that a gigantic meteor, miles wide, struck the Earth, sending up choking dust and triggering volcanic eruptions, blocking the sun. For months, maybe years, the plants would have died, then the herbivores, then the carnivores. 60% of life was suffocated. Only the fittest survived and made it into the Age of Mammals; the Cenozoic.
The third extinction was by far the smallest; only 20%. Climate was changing abruptly during the Tertiary period, and some didn't change enough in time. If you think about it, climate change can be devastating, even if it's small. Fish would take different routes than normal, killing water predators. Some who were heat sensitive would die very quickly. Many did not survive this climate change, but more than enough to live until today.
One great concern is that humans will cause the next mass extinction through carbon emission and global warming.
The second extinction is a very popular one. At the end of the Mesozoic, the dinosaurs suddenly disappeared, along with many other gigantic reptiles. There are many theories to how they died, but the most popular one is the theory that a gigantic meteor, miles wide, struck the Earth, sending up choking dust and triggering volcanic eruptions, blocking the sun. For months, maybe years, the plants would have died, then the herbivores, then the carnivores. 60% of life was suffocated. Only the fittest survived and made it into the Age of Mammals; the Cenozoic.
The third extinction was by far the smallest; only 20%. Climate was changing abruptly during the Tertiary period, and some didn't change enough in time. If you think about it, climate change can be devastating, even if it's small. Fish would take different routes than normal, killing water predators. Some who were heat sensitive would die very quickly. Many did not survive this climate change, but more than enough to live until today.
One great concern is that humans will cause the next mass extinction through carbon emission and global warming.
