
Ancient Ocean Collapse Was Faster and Deadlier Than Previously Believed
New fossils from Inner Meadow in eastern Canada suggest Earth's earliest mass extinction, the Kotlin Crisis, about 550 million years ago, occurred abruptly and was far more deadly than previously thought, wiping out roughly 80% of large organisms. Evidence points to an oxygen-depleted ocean and environmental stressors, with exceptional Lagerstätten preservation helping to precisely date the event and prompting researchers to reassess the pace and causes of early ecosystem collapse.






