Extinction Timeline

Source

1 BCE

(All mass extinction events taken from this site) https://www.thoughtco.com/the-5-major-mass-extinctions-4018102#:~:text=These%20five%20mass%20extinctions%20include,or%20the%20K%2DT)%20Mass%20Extinction.

Ordovician Mass Extinction

1 CE

(440 million years ago)
85% of all living species eliminated
Main cause: continental drift/ climate change
The drastic climate change during earths early stages caused a quick ice age to form that didn't leave species anytime to adapt. When it was over, it ended so quickly that it killed off any species that survived.

The Devonian Mass Extinction

2

(375 million years ago)
80% of all living species eliminated
Main cause: lack of oxygen, rapid cooling of air, and volcanic eruptions/ meteor strikes. Lots of plants in the sea adapted to become land plants very quickly after the quick colonization of land leaving little oxygen in the ocean

The Permian Mass Extinction

3

(250 million years ago)
96% of all living species eliminated
Main cause: It is mostly unknown what caused this mass extinction, but it is one of the biggest the earth has ever had. it is called "The Great Dying"

The Triassic-Jurassic Mass Extinction

4

(200 million years ago)
More then half of all life eliminated
Main cause: Volcanic eruptions and basalt flooding over the last 18 million years. Gasses from the eruption caused rapid climate change and altered sea levels.

The K-T Mass Extinction

5

(65 million years ago)
75% of all species eliminated
Main cause: Meteor impact on earth, this is the extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. These meteors caused rapid climate change that also killed some dinosaurs that were not already killed.