All articles tagged with #great dying
A new study suggests that the collapse of tropical forests during the Great Dying 252 million years ago significantly contributed to prolonged global warming by reducing Earth's ability to store carbon, highlighting a potential climate tipping point that could threaten modern ecosystems if rainforests collapse due to ongoing climate change.
Fossil evidence shows that Inostrancevia, a saber-toothed apex predator, migrated 7,000 miles during the "Great Dying" mass extinction event 252 million years ago to find a new habitat before also going extinct. The fossils date from the late Permian period, an era of mass extinction so extreme that it is known as the "Great Dying." The event, triggered by climate change and fueled by volcanic eruptions, would have made it difficult for large predators such as Inostrancevia to find food. The researchers warn that Earth's largest mass extinction has parallels today as the planet undergoes another mass extinction.
Fossils of Inostrancevia, a saber-toothed predator the size of a tiger, were discovered in South Africa's Karoo Basin, 7,000 miles from its original habitat in Russia. The creature filled a gap left by extinct top predators in a far-flung ecosystem before becoming extinct itself, indicating that apex predators could serve as early indicators of impending mass extinctions. Researchers draw parallels between these prehistoric patterns and current ecological crises, underscoring the importance of understanding ancient extinction events to predict and possibly mitigate today's biodiversity loss.