GeologyRocks

The final period of the Palaeozoic from 290Ma-245Ma. The end of the Permian saw a mass extinction that wiped out around 90% of all marine life and nearly 70% of terrestrial life. Many theories have been presented for the cause of the extinction, including plate tectonics, an impact event, a supernova, extreme volcanism, the release of frozen methane hydrate from the ocean beds to cause a greenhouse effect, or some combination of factors.

Epochs:

• Zechstein 260-245Ma
• Rotliegendes 290-260Ma