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There have been at least five mass extinctions in earths history. The Permo-Triassic extinction, about 250 million years ago, was the worst. paleontologists estimate that 70% of land species and 90% of marine species went extinct at that time. Although there are many there are many theories, scientists still do not know the exact cause. The Cretaceous-Teritartiary extinction occured 65 million years ago and killed off dinosaurs.

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12y ago

There have been at least five mass extinctions in earths history. The Permo-Triassic extinction, about 250 million years ago, was the worst. paleontologists estimate that 70% of land species and 90% of marine species went extinct at that time. Although there are many there are many theories, scientists still do not know the exact cause. The Cretaceous-Teritartiary extinction occured 65 million years ago and killed off dinosaurs.

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8y ago

There have been at least five mass extinctions in earths history. The Permo-Triassic extinction, about 250 million years ago, was the worst. paleontologists estimate that 70% of land species and 90% of marine species went extinct at that time. Although there are many there are many theories, scientists still do not know the exact cause. The Cretaceous-Teritartiary extinction occured 65 million years ago and killed off dinosaurs.

Read more: How_many_mass_extinctions_have_there_been

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11y ago

There have been 5 Mass Extinction events in Earth's history.

They are.

1.Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event (End Cretaceous or K-T extinction): 65.5 Ma at the Cretaceous.Maastrichtian-Paleogene.Dania… transition interval. The K-T event is now called the Cretaceous-Paleogene (or K-Pg) extinction event by many researchers. About 17% of all families, 50% of all genera and 75% of species became extinct. In the seas it reduced the percentage of sessile animals to about 33%. The majority of non-avian dinosaurs became extinct during that time. The boundary event was severe with a significant amount of variability in the rate of extinction between and among different clades. Mammals and birds emerged as dominant land vertebrates in the age of new life.

2.Triassic-Jurassic extinction event (End Triassic): 205 Ma at the Triassic-Jurassic transition. About 23% of all families and 48% of all genera (20% of marine families and 55% of marine genera) went extinct. Most non-dinosaurian archosaurs, most therapsids, and most of the large amphibians were eliminated, leaving dinosaurs with little terrestrial competition. Non-dinosaurian archosaurs continued to dominate aquatic environments, while non-archosaurian diapsids continued to dominate marine environments. The Temnospondyl lineage of large amphibians also survived until the Cretaceous in Australia (e.g., Koolasuchus).

3.Permian-Triassic extinction event (End Permian): 251 Ma at the Permian-Triassic transition. Earth's largest extinction killed 57% of all families and 83% of all genera (53% of marine families, 84% of marine genera, about 96% of all marine species and an estimated 70% of land species) including insects.The evidence of plants is less clear, but new taxa became dominant after the extinction. The "Great Dying" had enormous evolutionary significance: on land, it ended the primacy of mammal-like reptiles. The recovery of vertebrates took 30 million years,but the vacant niches created the opportunity for archosaurs to become ascendant. In the seas, the percentage of animals that were sessile dropped from 67% to 50%. The whole late Permian was a difficult time for at least marine life, even before the "Great Dying".

4.Late Devonian extinction: 360-375 Ma near the Devonian-Carboniferous transition. At the end of the Frasnian Age in the later part(s) of the Devonian Period, a prolonged series of extinctions eliminated about 19% of all families, 50% of all genera and 70% of all species. This extinction event lasted perhaps as long as 20 Ma, and there is evidence for a series of extinction pulses within this period.

5.Ordovician-Silurian extinction event (End Ordovician or O-S): 440-450 Ma at the Ordovician-Silurian transition. Two events occurred that killed off 27% of all families and 57% of all genera. Together they are ranked by many scientists as the second largest of the five major extinctions in Earth's history in terms of percentage of genera that went extinct.

Source(s):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_…
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There have been five major mass extinctions in Earth's history. These periods of dramatic biodiversity loss resulted in the extinction of a large percentage of plant and animal species.

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Q: How many major mass extinctions have there been in Earth's history?
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There are 5 mass extinction in earths history and currently you are in the 6 which started?

The five mass extinctions in Earth's history are the Ordovician-Silurian, Late Devonian, Permian-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic, and Cretaceous-Paleogene extinctions. The current "sixth mass extinction" refers to the ongoing loss of biodiversity primarily caused by human activities such as habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation of resources. This extinction event is considered significant due to the rapid rate of species loss.


What percentage of earths history had life present?

Life has been present on Earth for approximately 85-90% of its 4.6 billion-year history, with evidence of microbial life dating back around 3.5 billion years. This indicates that microbial life existed on Earth for most of its existence.


What is the past condition of the earth?

The past condition of the Earth has varied greatly over its history, including periods of extreme heat, ice ages, and mass extinctions. Different geological eras have been characterized by distinct climates, land formations, and life forms. Studying Earth's past can provide insights into the planet's evolution and help us understand current environmental changes.


How many major extinction events have occurred during the Earth's history?

There have been five major extinction events during Earth's history. These events are known as the Ordovician–Silurian, Late Devonian, Permian–Triassic, Triassic–Jurassic, and Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction events. Each event resulted in a significant loss of biodiversity and had profound impacts on the evolution of life on Earth.


How many ice ages have we had?

There have been five major ice ages in Earth's history, with the most recent one ending about 11,700 years ago. These ice ages were periods of prolonged cold temperatures and glaciation.

Related questions

What age of geologic time ended with the great extinction?

The end of the Permian period marked the beginning of the Permian-Triassic extinction event, which was one of the most significant mass extinctions in Earth's history.


What are the major source of history?

The major source of history is literature. Literature has been in existence since time immemorial and this may serve the purpose of a great source of history.


How many Major League Baseball games have there been in the history of Major League Baseball?

100,000


What effects mass extinctions had on the history of life?

The largest mass extinction in the history of the earth could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably damaged.


In the days of Pangaea what is the name of the Earths one ocean was?

The one major ocean in the time of Pangaea has been termed as Panthalassa.


What is the group with the most extinctions?

This is an interesting question and not one that is easily answered. In terms of the entire history of life on earth the groups of individual species that have been around the longest would have experienced the most extinctions. The more complex the animal the fewer organisms produced and therefore the fewer species available for extinction. This makes various unicelluar organisms (animal, plant and bacterial) subject to the most extinctions. Even though several mass extinctions have occurred, the focus is primarily on the larger identifiable organisms of the time, (Dinosaurs for example), especially those that have a fossil record proving they existed. This places the focus on complex plants and animals. Focus is often on man caused extinctions as well...which are, on the whole, a very small number in the grand scheme of the history of life on Earth. The primary concept to remember is that: Extinction is the rule, NOT the exception.


How life on earth has been affected by major catastrophic events?

Major catastrophic events such as asteroid impacts and volcanic eruptions have caused mass extinctions in Earth's history, leading to the extinction of numerous species. These events have also shaped the evolution of surviving species and influenced the overall biodiversity on the planet. Additionally, catastrophic events like earthquakes and tsunamis can disrupt ecosystems and human communities, causing widespread destruction and loss of life.


How many major extinction episodes has Earth seen in its time?

There have been five major extinction events on Earth, with the most well-known being the Permian-Triassic Extinction, often called the "Great Dying," which occurred around 252 million years ago and wiped out about 90% of marine species. The most recent major extinction event is the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which occurred around 66 million years ago and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.


What impact did asteroids have on earth in the distant past?

There have been several mass extinctions in earth's history, and the most recent one (known as the "K-T event") and possibly one or more of the earlier ones, are believed to have been caused by the impact of a large asteroid, or possibly cometary nucleus.


Has there been over logging in Canada?

Logging has been an important part of Canada's economic history. It is still a major industry.


How many plague pandemics have there been in recorded human history?

3 Major influenza Pandemics


The Extinction of what group of animal is caused by the global climate?

Climate change has caused mass extinctions of species throughout geologic time, dating back millions of years. The earth goes through cyclic temp changes constantly, and species adapt, evolve, or simply die out. The current period of "climate change" has not been severe enough yet to cause any major fauna extinctions as of this time, and chances are good that it may not, as the warming claims may have been exaggerated.