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How many land species disappeared during the Permian extinction?
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Permian Period
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins near the end of the Permian Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
During the Permian extinction, which stands as the most severe mass extinction in Earth's history, approximately 70 percent of land (terrestrial) species disappeared.21
This catastrophic event occurred during the latter part of the Permian Period and also resulted in the loss of more than 95 percent of marine species and over half of all taxonomic families. While the exact duration of this extinction is a subject of scientific debate—with some researchers suggesting it unfolded over 15 million years and others arguing for a much more rapid interval of approximately 200,000 years—the profound impact on global biodiversity remains a defining feature of the period's geochronology.21