I heard a comment the other day that I hadn't heard before, the 6th mass extinction. So I went searching.
What is a mass extinction?
- A mass extinction is a period of time when a large percentage of species die out.
- This can include bacteria, fungi, plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.
- A mass extinction is considered to have occurred when at least 75% of species are lost in a short period of geological time.
What are the previous mass extinctions?
- The Ordovician Extinction, which occurred about 445 million years ago
- The Late Devonian Extinction, which occurred about 370 million years ago
- The Permian-Triassic Extinction, which occurred 252 million years ago
- The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction, which occurred 201 million years ago
- The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction, which occurred 66 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs
It would seem we will have to wait for another 130 million years before the next one where some species may dissapear. Often those with impending doom forget we also have been discovering new species all the time
Many new animal species have been discovered in recent years, including mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
Mammals
- Amphibious mouse: A rare new species discovered in a Peruvian rainforest
- Spiny mouse: A new species discovered in a Peruvian rainforest
- Clouded tiger cat: A new species found in Central America and the Andes mountains
Fish
- Blob-headed fish: A bizarre new species with an unusual head discovered in a Peruvian rainforest
- Myloplus sauron: A new piranha-like species discovered in the Amazon River Basin
Reptiles and amphibians
- Rainfrog: A new species discovered in a Peruvian rainforest
- Narrow-mouthed frog: A new species discovered in a Peruvian rainforest
- Climbing salamander: A new species discovered in a Peruvian rainforest
Insects
- Butterflies: Many new species have been discovered, including 218 in 2024
- Scarab beetles: Many new species have been discovered, including 71 in 2024
- Dalek wasps: A new species discovered in 2023
Other animals
- Giant crab spider: A super-sized spider discovered in the Ecuadorian Amazon
- Pygmy chameleons: Six new species discovered in Tanzania's Eastern Arc Mountains
- Silent frog: A new species discovered in Tanzania's Ukaguru Mountains
My point? When the green machine says things such as we only have 5 years to save the planet, or the guardian says humanity is at turning point, they conveniently forget there are hundreds of millions of years between such events and none have involved humans, cars, planes or trains.