Diversification and Extinction in the History of Life
Abstract
Analysis of the fossil record of microbes, algae, fungi, protists, plants, and animals shows that the diversity of both marine and continental life increased exponentially since the end of the Precambrian. This diversification was interrupted by mass extinctions, the largest of which occurred in the Early Cambrian, Late Ordovician, Late Devonian, Late Permian, Early Triassic, Late Triassic, and end-Cretaceous. Most of these extinctions were experienced by both marine and continental organisms. As for the periodicity of mass extinctions, no support was found: Seven mass extinction peaks in the last 250 million years are spaced 20 to 60 million years apart.
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Although the exact causes and mechanisms remain unknown, most mass extinctions have been linked to rapid changes in climate.
“Although the exact causes and mechanisms remain unknown, most have been linked to rapid changes in climate (Table 3; Benton, 1995; Sepkoski, 2000; Bambach et al., 2004).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Benton, 1995
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References 44 · Cited by 654
- Authors
- Benton, M. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Benton, M. J.
- ORCID
- Benton, M. J.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1995-04-07
- Volume
- 268
- Issue
- 5207
- Pages
- 52-58
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2010154591
- Cited by
- 654
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 3.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Keywords
- mass extinction, diversification, history of life, fossil record, Lower Cambrian, Late Ordovician, Late Devonian, Late Permian, Early Triassic, Late Triassic, end-Cretaceous, microbial diversity, algae, fungi, protists, plants
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Biological Evolution, Paleontology, Population Dynamics, Selection, Genetic
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