Permian–Triassic mass extinction

E53623

mass extinction event paleontological event

The Permian–Triassic mass extinction was the most severe biodiversity crisis in Earth's history, wiping out the majority of marine and terrestrial species around 252 million years ago and marking the boundary between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Permian–Triassic extinction event	6
Permian–Triassic mass extinction canonical	6
Permian–Triassic boundary	4
end-Permian mass extinction	3
end-Permian extinction	2
Permian–Triassic mass extinction event	1
P–Tr extinction	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T425041 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Permian–Triassic mass extinction
Context triple: [Mesozoic Era, precededByEvent, Permian–Triassic mass extinction]

A. Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary
The Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary marks the geological transition 66 million years ago associated with a mass extinction event that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs and many other species, likely triggered by a large asteroid impact.
B. Jurassic Period
The Jurassic Period was a major division of the Mesozoic Era characterized by warm climates, the dominance and diversification of dinosaurs, and the early evolution of birds.
C. Triassic
The Triassic was the first period of the Mesozoic Era, marked by the initial diversification of dinosaurs and the recovery of life following the Permian–Triassic mass extinction.
D. Ediacaran biota
The Ediacaran biota comprises some of the earliest known complex multicellular organisms, featuring soft-bodied, enigmatic life forms that lived in the oceans before the Cambrian explosion.
E. Chicxulub impact crater
The Chicxulub impact crater is a massive buried structure in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula formed by an asteroid impact widely linked to the mass extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Permian–Triassic mass extinction
Target entity description: The Permian–Triassic mass extinction was the most severe biodiversity crisis in Earth's history, wiping out the majority of marine and terrestrial species around 252 million years ago and marking the boundary between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.

A. Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary
The Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary marks the geological transition 66 million years ago associated with a mass extinction event that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs and many other species, likely triggered by a large asteroid impact.
B. Jurassic Period
The Jurassic Period was a major division of the Mesozoic Era characterized by warm climates, the dominance and diversification of dinosaurs, and the early evolution of birds.
C. Triassic
The Triassic was the first period of the Mesozoic Era, marked by the initial diversification of dinosaurs and the recovery of life following the Permian–Triassic mass extinction.
D. Ediacaran biota
The Ediacaran biota comprises some of the earliest known complex multicellular organisms, featuring soft-bodied, enigmatic life forms that lived in the oceans before the Cambrian explosion.
E. Chicxulub impact crater
The Chicxulub impact crater is a massive buried structure in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula formed by an asteroid impact widely linked to the mass extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (62)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	mass extinction event ⓘ paleontological event ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Great Dying ⓘ Permian–Triassic extinction event ⓘ linked to: Permian–Triassic mass extinction P–Tr extinction ⓘ linked to: Permian–Triassic mass extinction
associatedWith	carbon cycle disruption ⓘ collapse of marine ecosystems ⓘ collapse of terrestrial ecosystems ⓘ extreme greenhouse warming ⓘ global euxinia ⓘ global warming of more than 5–10 °C ⓘ massive flood basalt eruptions ⓘ ocean acidification ⓘ ocean anoxia ⓘ rapid CO₂ increase ⓘ severe climate change ⓘ strong negative carbon isotope excursion ⓘ
durationEstimate	on the order of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years ⓘ
ecologicalConsequence	long recovery time for biodiversity ⓘ reset of marine trophic structures ⓘ
estimatedRecoveryTime	5–10 million years for many ecosystems ⓘ
followedBy	Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction ⓘ
generaLoss	about 80–90% of marine genera extinct ⓘ
geochemicalEvidence	evidence for widespread anoxia in sedimentary rocks ⓘ large negative δ13C excursion ⓘ
geochronologyMethod	U–Pb zircon dating of volcanic ash beds ⓘ
invertebrateFamilyLoss	about 57% of marine invertebrate families extinct ⓘ
isBoundaryLevel	Permian–Triassic boundary ⓘ linked to: Permian–Triassic mass extinction
keyStudyRegion	Meishan section, South China ⓘ
majorVictimGroup	many brachiopod groups ⓘ many fusulinid foraminifera ⓘ many insect orders ⓘ many synapsid (therapsid) lineages ⓘ rugose corals (extinct) ⓘ tabulate corals (extinct) ⓘ trilobites (completely extinct) ⓘ
marineSpeciesLoss	about 80–96% of marine species extinct ⓘ
marksBoundaryBetween	Mesozoic era ⓘ linked to: Mesozoic Era Paleozoic era ⓘ linked to: Paleozoic Era Permian period ⓘ linked to: Permian Period Triassic period ⓘ linked to: Triassic
paleontologicalEvidence	abrupt faunal turnover in fossil record ⓘ global extinction horizon in marine strata ⓘ
plantImpact	major turnover in terrestrial floras ⓘ
possibleContributingCause	continental aridification ⓘ impact event (hypothesized, not widely accepted) ⓘ methane release from seafloor or permafrost ⓘ ocean stratification ⓘ ozone layer depletion ⓘ sea-level changes ⓘ wildfires ⓘ
precededBy	Capitanian (Guadalupian) mass extinction ⓘ
primarySuspectedCause	Siberian Traps large igneous province volcanism ⓘ
recognizedAs	one of the “Big Five” Phanerozoic mass extinctions ⓘ
relativeSeverity	most severe mass extinction in Earth history ⓘ
survivorGroup	ammonoids (severely reduced but later radiated) ⓘ archosaur lineages ⓘ bivalves ⓘ early ancestors of mammals ⓘ gastropods ⓘ
terrestrialVertebrateSpeciesLoss	about 70% or more of terrestrial vertebrate species extinct ⓘ
timePeriod	around 252 million years ago ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (23)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Mesozoic Era → precededByEvent → Permian–Triassic mass extinction ⓘ

Phanerozoic Eon → includesEvent → Permian–Triassic mass extinction ⓘ

Paleozoic Era → endsWith → Permian–Triassic extinction event ⓘ