Geologists from the Virginia Tech have discovered what caused the first ever
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A study titled published inThe Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that it was the decline in global oxygen levels that caused the mass extinction at the end of the Ediacaran period. The results of the study show that about 80% of the animals died during this period.
Scott Evans, study leader, said:“Many different species of animals went extinct, but those whose body plan and behavior indicated that they were dependent on significant amounts of oxygen suffered particularly hard. This suggests that the extinction was ecologically controlled, like all other mass extinctions in the geological record." However, the reason for the decline in oxygen levels on the planet still remains a mystery.
"The short answer to the question is how it ishappened, we don’t know”, – Evans said. “This could be any number and combination of volcanic eruptions, tectonic plate movement, asteroid impact, etc.”
The Earth was thought to have experienced five mass extinctions. Using the new data, scientists have discovered a new mass extinction in the Ediacaran period, the earliest in history.
The Ediacaran period lasted about 96 Ma, lasting from 635 to 539 Ma.