The Permian period ended about 250 million years ago with the largest recorded mass extinction in Earth’s history, when a series of massive volcanic eruptions is believed to have triggered global ...

For 15 years, researchers have been examining Permian remains from Tanzania and Zambia, uncovering several new species.

Around 252 million years ago, Earth’s oceans became a lethal test of animal physiology. Nearly every marine species vanished, ...

A new Stanford-led study offers the clearest picture yet of how some ocean life survived our planet's biggest mass extinction ...

Earth responded to its most severe past warming event by evolving a new and bizarre type of photosynthesis that allowed a group of primitive plants to survive. Research led by the University of Leeds ...

Clams and snails rule today’s shores because their ancient ancestors survived a catastrophe that erased nearly all ocean life. The shells scattered along modern beaches are clues to an ancient ...

Why do beaches today have seashells from clams and snails instead of brachiopods? A new study suggests the answer lies in ...

"Welcome to the Black Triangle," said paleobiologist Cindy Looy as our van slowed to a stop in the gentle hills of the northern Czech Republic, a few miles from the German and Polish borders. The ...

A mass extinction event is a term used to describe a large-scale event that wipes out species. It is usually not a short, one-time incident but rather something that occurs over thousands or millions ...

Earth responded to its most severe past warming event by evolving a new and bizarre type of photosynthesis that allowed a group of primitive plants to survive. Research led by the University of Leeds ...