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  1. List of extinction events - Wikipedia

    Moreover, we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this …

  2. There have been five mass extinctions in Earth's history

    Nov 30, 2022 · There have been five big mass extinctions in Earth's history – these are called the "Big Five". Understanding the reasons and timelines of these events is important to understand the speed …

  3. Mass Extinctions Through Geologic Time - U.S. National Park Service

    Feb 28, 2025 · Mass extinctions are spikes or rapid increases in extinction rates that occur over short periods of geologic time, leading to substantial drops in global biodiversity.

  4. Major Mass Extinctions | Britannica

    As species evolved and diversified, several major mass extinction events changed the course of life. In such events, a significant number of living species died off over a broad geographic area during a …

  5. Earth’s five mass extinctions | Oxford University Museum of Natural …

    So far, Earth has experienced five major mass extinctions. Huge volcanic eruptions, sea-level and climate changes, and massive meteorite strikes have all eliminated whole groups of organisms …

  6. Earth’s 5 catastrophic mass extinctions, explained

    Mar 28, 2025 · Extinction is not exclusive to dinosaurs. Our planet has gone through at least five periods of mass extinction, with the planet likely in a sixth wave of mass extinction –this one, driven...

  7. The Earth’s five major mass extinctions - Futura-Sciences

    Apr 1, 2025 · Here’s a look back at the five major extinction events over the past 500 million years—each one wiping out more than half of life on Earth in a relatively short time.

  8. The Timeline of Mass Extinction Events on Earth - WorldAtlas

    Feb 17, 2023 · There have been five mass extinction events in the history of the earth, and the earth is debatably in a sixth one. Here is a detailed review of each mass extinction.

  9. The 5 Major Mass Extinctions - ThoughtCo

    Aug 31, 2024 · Throughout the 4.6 billion years of Earth's history, five major mass extinction events have occurred, each wiping out an overwhelming majority of species living at the time.

  10. Mass extinction facts and information from National Geographic

    At least a handful of times in the last 500 million years, 75 to more than 90 percent of all species on Earth have disappeared in a geological blink of an eye in catastrophes we call mass...