Capitanian mass extinction event

Marine extinction intensity during Phanerozoic
%
Millions of years ago
Plot of extinction intensity (percentage of genera that are present in each interval of time but do not exist in the following interval) vs time in the past for marine genera. Geological periods are annotated (by abbreviation and colour) above. The Capitanian extinction event occurred 260–259 million years ago, ~7 million years before the Permian–Triassic extinction event, with just over 35% (according to this source) failing to survive. (source and image info)

The Capitanian mass extinction event, also known as the end-Guadalupian, Guadalupian-Lopingian, or pre-Lopingian extinction began around 262 million years ago with its most intense pulse peaking at 259 million years ago, marking the end of the Capitanian stage and Guadalupian (Middle Permian) epoch of the Permian. Historically conflated with the better-known Permian–Triassic extinction, it was only recognised as a distinct event in 1994. Despite this, the mass extinction is believed to be the third-largest of the Phanerozoic in terms of the percentage of genera (33-35%) and species (60-63%) lost after the end-Permian and Late Ordovician mass extinction, while being the fifth worst in terms of ecological severity. The global nature of the Capitanian mass extinction has been called into question by some palaeontologists as a result of some analyses finding it to have affected only low-latitude taxa in the Northern Hemisphere.

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