 a sharp decrease in the number of species

in a relatively short period of time.

 There different ways a mass extinction can
occur including…
 Asteroids
 Comets
 Global warming
 Ice age
 And more…
 439 million years ago
Caused by a drop in sea level as glaciers formed,
then by rising sea levels as glaciers melted.
Killed about 25% of marine families
Killed 60% of marine genera
• About 364 million years ago
• Not clear if it is 2 large mass
extinctions or a series of small
extinctions
• About 22% of marine families were
killed
• About 57% of the genera were killed
• Suggested that a asteroid impact was
the prime cause
• Most likely due to volcanic eruption,
• an asteroid impact
• or a near by super nova?.
 Informally called the “Great Dying”
 Occurred about 251 million years ago
 It was the most severe extinction
 96% of all marine species were killed
 59% of terrestrial vertebrate were killed
 the extinction took a few million years
 Normal levels of biodiversity did not
become present until 6 million years after
the end of the Permian
• 199 million to 214 million years ago
• caused by massive floods or lava
erupting from central Atlantic province
– an event that triggered the opening
of the Atlantic Ocean
• The volcanism may have lead to
deadly global warming
• 22% of Marine families
• 52% of marine genera
• Vertebrate deaths unknown
Power Point Template
 No one knows exactly how this Mass
Extinction happened and why it happened at
such a rapid rate. Scientists have many
theories but it boils down to about one major
one and a few others due to Occoms razor.
 The first and the most favored theory is that
an asteroid hit somewhere in the golf of
Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million
years ago. The Asteroid impact is site is
called the Chixclub and is approximately 200
Kilometers across making the asteroid itself
about 9 miles wide
 caused Forest fires to start and ignited
volcanic eruptions all over the glob as well as
tidal waves, severe storms that would
eliminated all sunlight. It would be six
months before sunlight would reach the
ground after such a blow. The dinosaurs,
even in their prime, stood no chance without
sunlight and plant life, ending the dinosaurs
165 million year reign.
 1 .One of the other theories is that climate
change killed all of the plant eating
dinosaurs due to lack of food from the
climate change. The cretaceous period was
tropical and so were almost 50 percent of
the plants. If the temperature was to
change drastically the plant eater’s food
would slowly dwindle. With the plant eaters
becoming extinct the carnivores would soon
run out of food as well.
 2. Volcanic eruptions have also been
theorized to have killed of the dinosaurs.
When volcanoes erupt they send clouds of
dust, sulfuric acid, and poisonous gas that
would have made it impossible to breath.
This would result in the blocking of sunlight
and a severe climate change. This would
have been nearly impossible to survive in this
environment
 Ordovician-Silurian extinction - 439 million
years ago,
 Late Devonian extinction - 364 million
years ago
 Permian-Triassic extinction - 251 million
years ago
 End Triassic extinction, - 199 million to
214 million years ago
 Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, about 65
million years ago
 This extinction is referred to as the Holocene
extinction. This is named after what
geologists call the period we as humans have
been in. The immense amount of extinction
during this period of plants and mammals
has constituted is as a mass extinction to
many scientists. The extinctions include
birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
 This extinction is thought to have started once
Homo sapiens started dispersing outward from
Africa on the land bridges, hunting and gathering
was the start of the extinctions induced by man.
Today approximately 1,000 species out of the
worlds 10,000 are on the verge of extinction.
There is no conclusive evidence but it is
estimated that since Homo sapiens began
hunting and gathering some 500,000 –
1,000,000 species have become extinct, from
over hunting, population, and most importantly
pollution.