Scientists may have solved 252 mn-year-old mystery behind Earth's greatest mass extinction
A new study from Stanford University suggests that physiological traits like oxygen usage and energy generation were key factors in determining which marine species survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. The research highlights how these biological characteristics allowed certain organisms to adapt to a rapidly warming and oxygen-depleted ocean.
Why it matters
Understanding how ancient species survived extreme environmental stress provides critical insights into how modern marine ecosystems might respond to current climate change and ocean warming.
The story of life in the oceans changed long before dinosaurs appeared and vanished. Around 252 million years ago, the planet experienced the most destructive biological crisis known in the fossil record, wiping out almost all marine species and reshaping life beneath the waves. Although scientists have spent decades examining what happened during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, one question has remained unresolved: why did some groups disappear almost entirely while others recovered and eventually came to dominate the seas? A new study led by Stanford University argues that the answer lies not simply in the scale of environmental change but in how different animals functioned. Researchers suggest that characteristics such as feeding strategies, mobility and energy requirements may have played a crucial role in determining which species survived.
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