An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An event in the history of life on Earth in which large numbers of species
(sometimes more than 90% of some species) vanish in a relatively short period of time. In spite of controversy, it is generally recognized that there have been at least six major mass extinctions. These occurred in the late Cambrian (500 million years ago), in the late Ordovician (440 million years ago), in the late Devonian (365 million years ago), at the end of the Permian (245 million years ago), in the late Triassic (208 million years ago), and at the end of the Cretaceous (65 million years ago).

See also: → mass; → extinction.