The timing and pattern of biotic recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction

The aftermath of the great end-Permian period mass extinction 252 null Myr ago shows how life can recover from the loss of >90% species globally. The crisis was triggered by a number of physical environmental shocks (global warming, acid rain, ocean acidification and ocean anoxia), and some of these were repeated over the next 5-6 Myr. Ammonoids and some other groups diversified rapidly, within 1-3 null Myr, but extinctions continued through the...