How have extinction events changed our world?
An extinction event, sometimes called a mass extinction event, is when something happens to the Earth which causes many species to die out quickly.
Scientists believe the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old and during this time there have been a number of extinction events.
These events wiped out many animals and plants, leaving space for new ones to grow. They also changed the planet’s weather, oceans and land.
Watch: Earthcraft
A computer game that lets you explore the impact of extinction events on Earth? Even grown-ups might want to play it - let's just hope they don’t get carried away…
MUM: What are you playing?
CHILD: Earthcraft. It's a game where I build planet Earth when the dinosaurs were around. I'm on the Triassic level.
GAME: Triassic level.
CHILD: I've mined a trillion blocks to make this single supercontinent called Pangaea. And then I filled it with dinosaurs and plants and spawned little mammal mobs.
MUM: Oh right, how long did that take you?
CHILD: About 4.3 billion years.
MUM: Yeah. We should probably cut down on your screen time.
GAME: Extinction event.
CHILD: What? A bunch of volcanoes went up and spewed lava everywhere. It's killed 75% of all my animals. And, oh, it split my supercontinent in half!
MUM: Is that bad?
CHILD: This is worse than when I got attacked by a bunch of creepers.
MUM: Is that bad?
CHILD: Yes! I'm done with this game.
MUM: We could go for a walk.
CHILD: Uh maybe I could play for a little bit longer.
GAME: Jurassic level.
CHILD: I did it! It's taken me 50 million years. But I finally built a new world on the Jurassic level.
MUM: Oh, there you go. Wasn't totally destroyed.
CHILD: It's got these two supercontinents and some amazing new dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
MUM: Oh, do you know what that is? That's the sound of. Ptero. Dactyl.
CHILD: What's happening?
MUM: Huge pterodactyl. Like a monster chicken. All the other animals are panic stricken. Giant freaking claws and it's after a snack. Ooh super scary pterodactyl attack!
CHILD: That was so cringe.
MUM: I don't know what came over me.
CHILD: Never do that again.
MUM: No I won't.
CHILD: Right. The Cretaceous level. The two supercontinents have broken apart, and that's led to masses of new wildlife.
MUM: Let's see what all the fuss is about. This is actually pretty good. The Cretaceous level has got all the best dinosaurs. Triceratops! Velociraptor! Oh! T-Rex! Jockey!
CHILD: No, no.
GAME: Extinction event. Asteroid impact.
MUM: How many of my dinosaurs survived that?
CHILD: Pretty much none.
CHILD: Oh, I think that's enough screen time for you Mum. Maybe we could go for a walk.
MUM: Oh, you want to go for a walk now it's my turn? No. Go to your room.
CHILD: So unfair.
What were the extinction events?
Scientists believe there have been five mass extinction events:
Ordovician-Silurian (about 440 million years ago)
The Earth got very cold and the seas shrank. Most sea creatures died, but afterwards new kinds of fish and coral appeared.Devonian (about 365 million years ago)
The oceans lost oxygen and many sea animals vanished. This gave land plants and the first amphibians (animals that live on land and water) a chance to grow.Permian-Triassic (about 252 million years ago)
Huge volcanoes erupted, killing 95 per cent of sea life and 90 per cent of land animals. After this, dinosaurs began to rise.Triassic-Jurassic (about 201 million years ago)
More volcano eruptions and climate changes wiped out many reptiles. Dinosaurs then became the rulers of the Jurassic world.Cretaceous-Paleogene (about 66 million years ago)
A giant asteroid hit Earth, along with volcanic eruptions. The dinosaurs (except those that later became birds) died out, and mammals took over - leading eventually to the evolution of humans.
Horrible Science fact
A Tyrannosaurus rex is thought to have had a bite twice as strong as a lion. That means it could crunch through bones like they were chocolate biscuits!
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