In the first and only reconstruction of ocean pH ever carried out, new research from the University of St Andrews and the ...

A Pattern of Extinctions. According to Our World in Data, Mass extinctions are not new to Earth. For over 500 million years, the planet has experienced five major biological crises, during which ...

The big five mass extinctions. There are, however, a few sites that do capture a reasonably good fossil record of life on land during mass extinction events.

Life rebounded from each of the Big Five mass extinctions throughout Earth’s history, eventually punching through past diversity highs.

In its 4.5 billion year history, Earth has undergone five mass extinctions and we are potentially in a sixth era of mass death. Today’s crocodylians are the surviving members of a lineage called ...

Ancient fossils show how the last mass extinction forever scrambled the ocean’s biodiversity By Stewart Edie , Smithsonian Institution Updated June 16, 2025 10:04 a.m.

Ancient fossils show how the last mass extinction forever scrambled the ocean’s biodiversity By Stewart Edie , Smithsonian Institution Updated June 16, 2025 8:04 a.m.

Ancient fossils show how the last mass extinction forever scrambled the ocean’s biodiversity By Stewart Edie , Smithsonian Institution Updated June 16, 2025 11:04 a.m.

Mass extinctions clearly upend the status quo. Now, our ocean floors are dominated by clams burrowed into sand and mud, the quahogs, cockles and their relatives – a scene far different from that ...