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by memorysafety
1893 days ago
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I guess you mean The Great Oxygen Extinction Event (2.4-2.0 Ga). In that case, it's presumed it was indeed a massive extinction (but no data to quantify any % over, due to no microbial fossils preserved). ... But for a different reason. It wasn't due to decrease in oxygen levels; contrary to that. At that time, oxygen was being first ever introduced into the atmosphere. This has left a unique geological trace we observe everywhere across the planet: the white sedimentary + red rust striped 2 Ga rocks. The "microbes" were the first photosynthesisers. The oxygen was a toxic byproduct. Resistance to it had to be learned by evolution, and that learning took ~1e8 years. Many of life didn't manage to and went extinct. |
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