Grade 10 Life Sciences

Topic: History of Life on Earth

Sub-topic: Mass extinctions

BY: W.E. MAYA

 What are Mass extinctions?

➢ Extinction refers to the death of all the organisms of a species so that not
even a single member of the species exists.
➢ Remember that there are two types of extinctions.
➢ They are natural and man-made extinctions.
➢ Natural extinctions usually occur at a constantly lower rate, almost the same rate
at which new species are formed.
➢ But there are times when more than 50% of the earth’s species vanishes in a
geological instant of a few million years.
➢ This is called a mass extinction.
What contributes to mass extinctions?
When did mass extinctions occur?
 THE FIRST MASS EXTINCTION

▪ The earliest known mass extinction occurred about

439 million years ago and was caused by a drop in
sea levels.
▪ The sea levels dropped because of the formation of

glaciers.
▪ The sea levels rises as the glaciers

started to melt.
 The second and third mass extinctions
• The second extinction occurred about 364 million years ago.
• It is not known what caused this extinction.
• The third extinction occurred about 250 million years ago.
• It may have been caused by: comet or asteroid impact or volcanic floods.

Asteroids
Volcanic eruptions
 The fourth mass extinction
❑ The fourth mass extinction occurred about 214 million to 199 million years
ago.

❑ It was caused when volcanoes erupted releasing large amounts of lava.

❑ This led to global warming.

Lava caused by
volcanoes
 The fifth mass extinction
➢ The fifth mass extinction occurred about 65 million years ago.
➢ There are several possible causes:

• asteroid impact on the Yucatan Peninsula which is in the Gulf of

Mexico
• gradual climate change
• volcanic eruptions
 Two Particular Extinctions
➢ Of the five mass extinctions two stand out
➢ These were the one that occurred 250 million years ago and the
one that occurred 65 million years ago. Asteroids led
➢ The mass extinction that occurred 250 million years ago was to the
the most serious one.
extinction of
➢ The most famous mass extinction occurred 65 million years
dinosaurs
ago, the extinction of the dinosaurs.
 Two Particular Extinctions
The mass extinction of 250 million years ago.
❑ During this extinction almost 90% all species became extinct.
❑ This included: 84% of marine genera and about 70% of
land species plants, insects and vertebrate animals.
The mass extinction of 65 million years ago.
❑ Birds and mammals also existed during this time.
❑ The dinosaurs then became extinct in a short period of 10 million years.
❑ Of the marine families 16%, marine genera 47% and 18 % of the land vertebrate
families also became extinct during this time.
 The dinosaurs
➢ The dinosaurs appeared about 245 million years ago.
➢ They flourished during the Jurassic Period.
➢ This period occurred about 208 to 143 million years ago.
➢ The dinosaurs dominated the land and air and some of them
even lived in water.
 The mass extinction of 65 million years - Causes
o Scientists are not sure about the exact cause of this mass extinction.
o However, the following are some of the conditions that occurred during
this time:
❖ There was a sharp drop in temperature.
❖ The water of the seas evaporation.
❖ Many of the plants , the source of food for the dinosaurs died out.
❖ Iridium was found in a thin layer of clay.
❖ There were many volcanic eruptions in India.
❖ An asteroid crashed onto Earth, causing global climate change.
❖ Continental drift led to the climate change.
 The Holocene Epoch
The next major extinction is occurring presently.
❑ This is the sixth mass extinction.
❑ Human exploitation of the environment is the cause of this mass extinction.
❑ It is occurring in the Holocene Epoch and the mass extinction is called the
Holocene extinction or sometimes the megafauna extinction.
❑ Reason why it is called the megafauna extinction:
➢ the large mammals (e.g., woolly mammoth and dodo) became extinct during
this time.
The Holocene Epoch
Summary of the 5 mass extinctions
 ACTIVITY 1
Various options are provided as possible answers to the following
questions. Choose the correct answer.
1.1 The process by which living organism die off so that not a single member of the
species exists.
A Extinction C Megafauna extinction
B Mass extinction D Ice age
1.2 The disappearance of more than 50% of the Earth’s species in a geological
instant of a few million years:
A Extinction C Mass extinction
B Megafauna extinction D Holocene extinction
 ACTIVITY 1
1.3 The name given to the extinction characterized by the death
of large mammals.
A Extinction C Megafauna extinction
B Mass extinction D Holocene epoch
1.4 The most famous extinction took place…
A 65 million years ago C 250 million years ago
B 364 million years ago D 439 million years ago
 ACTIVITY 2.1
Evidence suggests that five mass extinctions have occurred throughout
the history of the Earth—the most famous of which led to the extinction Identify:
of the dinosaurs. Scientists are still studying the causes of these (a) The era with the shortest duration
catastrophic events. Study the graph below and answer the question. (b) the era with the longest duration
that follow: (c) The era with the least geological
periods

(a) Cenozoic
(b) Paleozoic
(c) Cenozoic
 ACTIVITY 2.2
The Cenozoic era is known to have produced the
modern humans, modern mammal species and also
the extinction of large mammals such as the
mammoths.
(a) How many years ago did that happen?
(b) Explain what is meant by mass extinction
(a) 65.5 mya

(b) It is when many species are lost/disappear in

the same period of time

According to the graph, approximately how long

did the Mesozoic era last? Show all your
calculations.
251 mya – 65.5 mya = 185.5 mya
Activity 2.3
(c) Name the FIVE mass extinctions that have already
happened.
Ordovician Mass Extinction
Devonian Mass Extinction
Permian Mass Extinction
Triassic-Jurassic Mass Extinction
Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction
THANK YOU