How long did the Ordovician period last, and what caused the Ordovician mass extinction to wipe out 85 percent of life on earth 445 million years ago?

The "Big Five" mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic Eon have long attracted significant attention from the geoscience community and the public. Among them, the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (LOME ...

A new study reports that volcanic activity forming large flood basalt provinces appears to have been the key driver of Earth's past mass extinctions.

The “Big Five” mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic Eon have long attracted significant attention from the geoscience community and the public. Among them, the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction ...

Today’s extinction rates are sky-high. But scientists debate if that’s sufficient evidence to conclude that Earth is undergoing a mass extinction event—or whether that’s even a helpful designation.

Deaths of nearby massive stars may have played a significant role in triggering at least two mass extinction events in Earth's history, according to new research.

Two of Earth's largest mass extinction events were likely triggered by the fallout from two supernovae in nearby space. This is the conclusion of a team of researchers from Keele University ...

But the first major mass extinction was way before that – about 443 million years ago. It’s called the Late Ordovician mass extinction. Back then, most living things were in the ocean.

As one of the coldest periods in Earth's history, the Hirnantian Icehouse played a crucial role in the second-largest mass extinction in Earth's history, known as the Late Ordovician Mass ...