Permian period

(Newser) - The planet's greatest extinction —the Permian mass extinction, or the "Great Dying"—wiped out around 90% of marine species and two-thirds of those on land over 60,000 years. Some 252 million years later, researchers are explaining what happened—and it may not bode well for...

(Newser) - Roughly 252 million years ago, an extreme animal die-off occurred: 70% of land animals and 96% of marine life were obliterated, in what's known as the Permian mass extinction. What scientists still don't exactly know is why (an asteroid? volcanic eruptions?), but they now know how long it...