{"product_id":"extinction-how-life-on-earth-nearly-ended-250-million-years-ago-updated-edition-9780691165653","title":"Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago - Updated Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eSome 250 million years ago, the earth suffered the greatest biological crisis in its history. Around 95 percent of all living species died out--a global catastrophe far greater than the dinosaurs' demise 185 million years later. How this happened remains a mystery. But there are many competing theories. Some blame huge volcanic eruptions that covered an area as large as the continental United States; others argue for sudden changes in ocean levels and chemistry, including burps of methane gas; and still others cite the impact of an extraterrestrial object, similar to what caused the dinosaurs' extinction. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eExtinction\u003c\/i\u003e is a paleontological mystery story. Here, the world's foremost authority on the subject provides a fascinating overview of the evidence for and against a whole host of hypotheses concerning this cataclysmic event that unfolded at the end of the Permian. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter setting the scene, Erwin introduces the suite of possible perpetrators and the types of evidence paleontologists seek. He then unveils the actual evidence--moving from China, where much of the best evidence is found; to a look at extinction in the oceans; to the extraordinary fossil animals of the Karoo Desert of South Africa. Erwin reviews the evidence for each of the hypotheses before presenting his own view of what happened. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlthough full recovery took tens of millions of years, this most massive of mass extinctions was a powerful creative force, setting the stage for the development of the world as we know it today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a new preface, Douglas Erwin assesses developments in the field since the book's initial publication.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDouglas H. Erwin\u003c\/b\u003e is senior scientist and curator in the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. He began researching the end-Permian mass extinction in the early 1980s and has traveled many times to China, South Africa, and Europe seeking its causes.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50491910324498,"sku":"9780691165653","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ce0d42de-2944-4f27-a178-8b74920e2f56.jpg?v=1730561437","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/extinction-how-life-on-earth-nearly-ended-250-million-years-ago-updated-edition-9780691165653","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}