mass extinction
Widespread biological collapse
Mass extinction refers to a widespread, rapid loss of species across the planet—events where a significant percentage of Earth's life forms die out in a geologically short period.
Five major mass extinctions mark the fossil record, the most famous being the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs.
Scientists debate whether human activity is causing a sixth: We're living through a mass extinction and most people don't even notice.
Space rock collision event
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- megafaunaSpecies over 44 kilograms
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- selectivityTendency to choose carefully
Preserved ancient organism traces
- fossil recordRemains documenting prehistoric life
- paleobiologyStudy of ancient organisms
- paleoecologyStudy of prehistoric ecosystems
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
geological time · sedimentary layers · fauna · flora · ammonites · trilobites · brachiopods
Organisms facing extinction risk
- human impactChanges caused by people
- overhuntingExcessive wildlife killing
- habitat destructionEliminating natural living spaces
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
overfishing · pollution · invasive species · population decline · conservation · wildlife trade · ecosystem collapse · rewilding
Sun-orbiting rocky mass
- volcanismSubterranean magma expulsion process
- climate shiftLasting change in weather patterns
- sea level changeOceanic height variation
- acidificationIncrease in hydrogen ions
greenhouse gases · global warming · ice age · glaciation · habitat loss · disease · hypoxia · toxic bloom
asteroid impact
Space rock collision event
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- megafaunaSpecies over 44 kilograms
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
recovery period · selectivity · boundary layer · volcanism · Deccan Traps
fossils
Preserved ancient organism traces
- fossil recordRemains documenting prehistoric life
- paleobiologyStudy of ancient organisms
- paleoecologyStudy of prehistoric ecosystems
stratigraphy · geological time · sedimentary layers · fauna · flora · ammonites · trilobites · brachiopods
endangered species
Organisms facing extinction risk
- human impactChanges caused by people
- overhuntingExcessive wildlife killing
- habitat destructionEliminating natural living spaces
deforestation · overfishing · pollution · invasive species · population decline · conservation · wildlife trade · ecosystem collapse · rewilding · protected species
asteroid
Sun-orbiting rocky mass
- volcanismSubterranean magma expulsion process
- climate shiftLasting change in weather patterns
- sea level changeOceanic height variation
acidification · greenhouse gases · global warming · ice age · glaciation · habitat loss · disease · hypoxia · toxic bloom · environmental stress
- Earth history eventsice age, volcanic eruption, asteroid impact, continental drift, meteor strike
- Paleozoic eraCambrian period, Carboniferous period, trilobites, brachiopods, Burgess Shale
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- environmental harmair pollution, water pollution, pollution, oil spills, acid rain
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- extinctiondodo, died out, passenger pigeon, Tasmanian tiger, thylacine
mass, massive, extinct, exterminate, extinction, massively, biomass, extirpate, massiveness