Land animals, ecosystems walloped after Permian dieoff
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 01:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
The cataclysmic events that marked the end of the Permian Period some 252 million years ago were a watershed moment in the history of life on Earth. As much as 90 percent of ocean organisms were extinguished, ushering in a new order of marine species, some of which we still see today. But while land dwellers certainly sustained major losses, the extent of extinction and the reshuffling afterward were less clear.