We have all heard of the most recent one – the K-Pg Extinction which ended the era of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, most likely caused by an asteroid impact in what is now Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.įive instances over the space of some 450 or so million years makes them one of the rarest events on our planet, however, we may be currently experiencing a sixth. Five instances where the world experienced a widespread and rapid decline of biodiversity. In 1982, palaeontologists Jack Sepkoski and David Raup identified five mass extinction events in the Earth’s history. However, if you were hoping for book infused with scientific rigor, to be guided by a mentor of capable expertise, you may be disappointed. A well-written, fascinating and horrifying account, The Sixth Extinction won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 2015. In The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert examines the environmental catastrophes the world is currently experiencing in the context of a mass extinction event.
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