DOMINGO, IVY M.

BSAP-4 GEELECES

ACTIVITY 1. Research about the five known major extinction events in Earth’s history.

A. Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (K-Pg)

I. Background
About 66 million years
ago, 75% of species became
extinct during the
Cretaceous–Paleogene
Extinction. Rates of extinction
broadly swept the land, sea,
and air. In the oceans,
ammonites disappeared.
All non-avian
dinosaurs became extinct.
But avian dinosaurs survived
because it was birds that
descended from theropod dinosaurs. Eventually, mammals emerged as
dominant large land animals.
The cause of this extinction event was an asteroid impact which
left an impact called the Chicxulub Crater. Also, giant floor basalts
aggravated called Deccan Traps.
II. Major Impacts
a. Affected Groups
• Dinosaurs (not birds)
• Pterosaurs
• Plesiosaurs
• Mosasaurs
• Ammonoids
b. Mass Extinction/ Impact
• Best known for killing off the dinosaurs.
• Ammonoids (marine mollusks), pterosaurs (gliding
reptiles), mosasaurs (swimming reptiles), and a host of other
plants and animals died out completely or suffered heavy losses.
• Some that did survive the extinction—including mammals, birds,
crocodiles, turtles, and redwood trees—were barely scathed.
III. Resources
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

Earthhow. (2023, September 25). Mass Extinctions: The 5 biggest dying

events in history. Earth How.
https://earthhow.com/mass-extinctions/

Mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period (66 million years
ago) | GeoKansas. (n.d.)
https://tinyurl.com/4uwky48w
Misachi, J. (2019, December 6). The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction
Event. WorldAtlas.
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-cretaceous-paleogene-
extinction-event.html

B. Triassic–Jurassic Extinction (T-J)

I. Background
More than 200
million years ago, a
massive extinction
decimated 76 percent of
marine and terrestrial
species, marking the end of
the Triassic period and the
onset of the Jurassic. This
devastating event cleared
the way for dinosaurs to
dominate Earth for the next
135 million years, taking
over ecological niches
formerly occupied by other
marine and terrestrial species.
Possible causes include volcanoes and giant flood basalts. From the
sudden release of carbon dioxide, climate change amplified the greenhouse
effect.
II. Major Impacts
a. Affected Groups
• Large amphibians
• Crurotarsans (not crocodiles)
• Insects
• Conodonts
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

b. Mass Extinction/ Impact

• The Triassic–Jurassic Extinction occurred 201.3 million years
ago. This extinction event witnessed acid 70-75% of all terrestrial
and marine species go extinct.
• Although the effects of this extinction were less disastrous, most
amphibians were eliminated. In the end of it, dinosaurs were left
with little terrestrial competition.

III. Resources
Earthhow. (2023, September 25). Mass Extinctions: The 5 biggest dying
events in history. Earth How.
https://earthhow.com/mass-extinctions/

Huge and widespread volcanic eruptions triggered the end-Triassic

extinction. (2013, March 21). MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
https://tinyurl.com/bddvdbdy
Triassic period. (2021, May 4). Science.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/triassic

C. Permian–Triassic Extinction (Great Dying)

I. Background
Approximately
251.9 million years ago,
the Permian–
Triassic (P–T, P–
Tr) extinction
event (PTME; also
known as the Late
Permian extinction
event, the Latest
Permian extinction
event, the End-Permian
extinction event, and
colloquially as the Great
Dying) forms the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic
periods, and with them the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras respectively.
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

It’s difficult to find the underlying cause of the Permian-Triassic

Extinction because it happened 252 million years ago. Much of the evidence
would have been removed. But the general consensus for the cause of the
“Great Dying” is severe volcanic activity, environmental change, and long-
term methane release.
The precise causes of the Great Dying remain unknown. The
scientific consensus is that the main cause of extinction was the flood
basalt volcanic eruptions that created the Siberian Traps, which
released sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, resulting in euxinia, elevating
global temperatures, and acidifying the oceans.

II. Major Impacts

a. Affected Groups
• Marine invertebrates
• Land plants
• Plankton
• Insects
• All life forms
b. Mass Extinction/ Impact
• It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with
the extinction of 57% of biological families, 83% of genera, 81%
of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species. It is
also the largest known mass extinction of insects.
• Earth’s largest extinction event in history killed 96% of all marine
species and an estimated 70% of land species, including insects.
The Permian-Triassic Extinction was such a devastating event
that it had the nickname the “Great Dying” because of its
significance.
• Actually, it took 30 million years for vertebrates to fully recover.
Even the highly successful marine arthropod and trilobite went
extinct. There was enormous evolutionary significance in ending
the reign of mammal-like reptiles.
III. Resources
Earthhow. (2023, September 25). Mass Extinctions: The 5 biggest dying
events in history. Earth How.
https://earthhow.com/mass-extinctions/

Wikipedia contributors. (2023, November 7). Permian–Triassic

extinction event. Wikipedia.
https://tinyurl.com/z9c2bv9s
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

The Great Permian Extinction: When all life on Earth almost vanished.
(n.d.). Earth Archives.
https://eartharchives.org/articles/the-great-permian-extinction-when-all-
life-on-earth-almost-vanished/index.html

D. Late Devonian Extinction (Late D)

I. Background
The Late Devonian Extinction was less severe than the other mass
extinctions. At least 70% of all species went extinct
It occurred 375–360 million years ago at the end of the Frasnian Age
and in the Devonian Period. This mass extinction lasted for over 20 million
years.
Though opinions vary, the biggest evidence is attributed to global
anoxia. The oxygen shortage was possibly triggered by global cooling or
oceanic volcanism.
II. Major Impacts
a. Affected Groups
• Coral-sponge reefs in the tropics
• Fish
• Plankton
b. Mass Extinction/ Impact
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

•Early lobe-finned fishes and tetrapod (four-limbed) vertebrates

were severely impacted by the Late Devonian mass extinction.
• A severe loss in biodiversity and a ‘floral crisis’ in land plants were
triggered by the Late Devonian mass extinction.
• The destruction of Devonian-style reefs triggered a permanent
change in global marine ecosystems.
• Both low-temperature stress (hypothermia) and oxygen
deprivation (hypoxia) are implicated in the Late Devonian mass
extinction
III. Resources
Earthhow. (2023, September 25). Mass Extinctions: The 5 biggest dying
events in history. Earth How.
https://earthhow.com/mass-extinctions/

McGhee, G. R. (2012). Extinction: Late Devonian Mass extinction. eLS.

https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470015902.a0001653.pub3
Allen, G. (2022, September 12). Marine life perished from the late
Devonian mass extinction. Discover Magazine.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-late-devonian-
mass-extinction-explained

E. Ordovician–Silurian Extinction (O-S)

I. Background
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

Ordovician-Silurian extinction, global mass extinction

event occurring during the Hirnantian Age (445.2 million to 443.8 million
years ago) of the Ordovician Period and the subsequent Rhuddanian
Age (443.8 million to 440.8 million years ago) of the Silurian Period that
eliminated an estimated 85 percent of all Ordovician species.
This extinction interval ranks second in severity to the one that occurred at
the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods about 251 million
years ago in terms of the percentage of marine families affected. The
Ordovician-Silurian extinction was almost twice as severe as the K–T
extinction event that occurred at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about
66 million years ago, which is famous for bringing an end to the dinosaurs.
The Ordovician–Silurian Extinction actually consists of two consecutive
mass extinctions. When combined together, O-S is widely considered to be
the second most catastrophic extinction event in history.
About 450–440 million years ago, 60% to 70% of all species were
vanquished. This included 85% of marine species that died.
The primary cause of the Ordovician–Silurian Extinction is believed to
be massive glaciation and sea-level drop. As continental drift carried
Gondwana to the South Pole, this locked water into ice caps. Overall, sea
levels substantially dropped.
II. Major Impacts
a. Affected Groups
• Brachiopods
• Trilobites
• Graptolites
• Moss animals
b. Mass Extinction/Impact
• Extinction was global during this interval, eliminating 49–60% of
marine genera and nearly 85% of marine species. Under most
tabulations, only the Permian-Triassic mass extinction exceeds
the Late Ordovician mass extinction in biodiversity loss.
• The extinction event abruptly affected all major taxonomic groups
and caused the disappearance of one third of
all brachiopod and bryozoan families, as well as numerous
groups of conodonts, trilobites, echinoderms, corals, bivalves,
and graptolites.
• Despite its taxonomic severity, the Late Ordovician mass
extinction did not produce major changes to ecosystem
structures compared to other mass extinctions, nor did it lead to
any particular morphological innovations. Diversity gradually
DOMINGO, IVY M. BSAP-4 GEELECES

recovered to pre-extinction levels over the first 5 million years of

the Silurian period
III. Resources
Earthhow. (2023, September 25). Mass Extinctions: The 5 biggest dying
events in history. Earth How.
https://earthhow.com/mass-extinctions/

Holland, S. M. (2009, April 22). Ordovician-Silurian extinction | Overview

& Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/science/Ordovician-Silurian-extinction
Wikipedia contributors. (2023a, November 7). Late Ordovician mass
extinction. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Ordovician_mass_extinction
Ordovician Silurian extinction. (n.d.).
https://ar.inspiredpencil.com/pictures-2023/ordovician-silurian-
extinction