💀 FIVE MASS EXTINCTIONS OF EARTH
PAGE 1 OF 5 — LIFE'S CLOSE CALLS
500 MA
FIVE TIMES THE WORLD RESET
Life on Earth has been shaken by five great mass extinctions, global crises that erase huge fractions of species, not just one unlucky valley. Dinosaurs appeared after the Permian catastrophe, ruled for 165 million years through the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, and vanished in the fifth extinction at the K-Pg boundary. Each event reshuffled who gets to dominate the planet, and recovery often takes longer than the reign of the losers.
🌋 THE GREAT DYING
🌋 Permian–Triassic: ~96% marine species lost
☄️ K-Pg: asteroid ends non-avian dinosaurs
⏱️ Recovery can take 10+ million years
☄️ K-Pg: asteroid ends non-avian dinosaurs
⏱️ Recovery can take 10+ million years
"Five times, life nearly lost the game."
FIVE!
SCALE
🌍 Whole planet affected at once
📉 Most species vanish, not one town
⏱️ Fast on a geological clock
📉 Most species vanish, not one town
⏱️ Fast on a geological clock
DINOS
🦕 Dinosaurs rose after Permian
☄️ Dinosaurs fell at K-Pg
🐦 Only bird-line dinosaurs remain
☄️ Dinosaurs fell at K-Pg
🐦 Only bird-line dinosaurs remain
PAGE 2 OF 5 — THE BIG FIVE
THE LIST
NAME THEM, KNOW THEM
Scientists count five major mass extinctions in the fossil record. The Ordovician–Silurian (~445 Ma) hit marine life during ice ages. The Late Devonian (~375 Ma) wrecked reefs. The Permian–Triassic (~252 Ma), the Great Dying, was worst of all. The Triassic–Jurassic (~201 Ma) cleared rivals so dinosaurs could expand. The K-Pg (~66 Ma) ended the dinosaur age except for birds.
📋 THE BIG FIVE
❄️ Ordovician: ice, sea-level swings
🌋 Permian: Siberian Traps volcanoes
☄️ K-Pg: Chicxulub asteroid
🌋 Permian: Siberian Traps volcanoes
☄️ K-Pg: Chicxulub asteroid
LIST!
ORDOVICIAN
❄️ Ice ages chilled the oceans
🌊 Sea level dropped sharply
🐚 Reef builders hit hardest
🌊 Sea level dropped sharply
🐚 Reef builders hit hardest
PERMIAN
🌋 Lava covered millions of km²
🌡️ CO₂ and acid poisoned seas
💀 96% marine species gone
🌡️ CO₂ and acid poisoned seas
💀 96% marine species gone
K-PG
☄️ Asteroid winter worldwide
🌑 Dust blocked the sun
🦕 Non-avian dinosaurs out
🌑 Dust blocked the sun
🦕 Non-avian dinosaurs out
PAGE 3 OF 5 — DINOSAURS & EXTINCTIONS
PERMIAN GAP
🌋 Permian opened new niches
🦎 Small archosaurs survived
🦕 Early dinosaurs were underdogs
🦎 Small archosaurs survived
🦕 Early dinosaurs were underdogs
K-PG END
☄️ K-Pg ended giant dinos
🐦 Birds continued the lineage
🐀 Mammals rose in empty world
🐦 Birds continued the lineage
🐀 Mammals rose in empty world
DINO STORY
BORN FROM DISASTER, KILLED BY ANOTHER
Dinosaurs were not extinction-proof, they were survivors of someone else's disaster, then victims of another. The Permian wipeout emptied roles that archosaurs and early dinosaurs slowly filled. For most of the Mesozoic they were the stars, sauropods, raptors, horned giants. Then the K-Pg impact removed all but the feathered bird line. Extinction is not failure; it is reshuffling the deck of life.
🦖 DINO JOURNEY
🐊 Triassic: croc-line ruled first
🦖 Jurassic–Cretaceous: dinosaur peak
🐦 Birds = dinosaurs that survived K-Pg
🦖 Jurassic–Cretaceous: dinosaur peak
🐦 Birds = dinosaurs that survived K-Pg
SHUFFLE!
PAGE 4 OF 5 — CAUSES VARY
CAUSES
VOLCANOES, ICE, ASTEROIDS
Causes differ: some extinctions link to volcanic CO₂ and acid oceans, others to ice-house cooling, the K-Pg to an asteroid. What they share is global reach and speed on a geological clock. Studying all five helps scientists spot warning signs in today's oceans, reefs, and climate, because the past is not just history, it is a laboratory.
🔬 WHY STUDY THEM?
🪸 Devonian & today: reef collapse parallels
🌡️ Volcanic CO₂ = ancient greenhouse
☄️ Impacts are rare but devastating
🌡️ Volcanic CO₂ = ancient greenhouse
☄️ Impacts are rare but devastating
WHY!
VOLCANO
🌋 Flood basalts last millennia
🌊 Oceans lose oxygen
🐟 Fish and shelled animals die
🌊 Oceans lose oxygen
🐟 Fish and shelled animals die
CLIMATE
❄️ Or extreme heat events
🌿 Food webs collapse upward
🦴 Fossils record the wipeout
🌿 Food webs collapse upward
🦴 Fossils record the wipeout
SPACE
☄️ Space rock + firestorm
🌑 Years of impact winter
🔥 Global wildfire soot layer
🌑 Years of impact winter
🔥 Global wildfire soot layer
PAGE 5 OF 5 — ARE WE IN A SIXTH?
TODAY
THE SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION?
Many biologists warn that humans are driving a possible sixth mass extinction, habitat loss, pollution, overfishing, and warming. Background extinction rates may be far above normal. The Big Five remind us how rare and precious today's biodiversity is, and that recovery can take millions of years, far longer than human civilisation has existed.
⚠️ SIXTH EXTINCTION?
🦕 Dinosaurs: one extinction of five
🌍 We can still protect species now
📖 Past = warning, not just story
🌍 We can still protect species now
📖 Past = warning, not just story
ACT!
RECAP
💀 Five global mass extinctions
🦕 Dinos: Permian win, K-Pg loss
🐦 Birds still here
🦕 Dinos: Permian win, K-Pg loss
🐦 Birds still here
REMEMBER
🦕 KEY FACTS
⏱️ Deep time next
🕐 How long is 66 million years?
🕐 How long is 66 million years?
🧠 QUIZ TIME!
FIVE MASS EXTINCTIONS OF EARTH · 5 QUESTIONS
QUESTION 01
How many major mass extinctions are counted in this topic?
QUESTION 02
Which extinction killed the most species (~96% of marine)?
QUESTION 03
When did non-avian dinosaurs go extinct?
QUESTION 04
Dinosaurs first rose prominently after which event?
QUESTION 05
What do all mass extinctions share?
0/5
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