For 15 years, researchers have been examining Permian remains from Tanzania and Zambia, uncovering several new species.

The Great Dying at the end of the Permian Period 250 million years ago may have been amplified by El Niño events far stronger and longer lasting than any today. These mega El Niños caused wild swings ...

The Permian period ended about 250 million years ago with the largest recorded mass extinction in Earth’s history, when a series of massive volcanic eruptions is believed to have triggered global ...

Tropical riparian ecosystems—those found along rivers and wetlands—recovered much faster than expected following the end-Permian mass extinction around 252 million years ago, according to new research ...

Around 252 million years ago, Earth’s oceans became a lethal test of animal physiology. Nearly every marine species vanished, ...

A cataclysm engulfed the planet some 252 million years ago, wiping out more than 90% of all life. Known as the Great Dying, the mass extinction that ended the Permian geological period was the worst ...

While El Niño climate patterns today are responsible for prolonged droughts and high temperatures, during the end-Permian (some 251 million years ago), they contributed to what was nearly the end of ...

A new study reveals that a region in China's Turpan-Hami Basin served as a refugium, or "life oasis," for terrestrial plants during the end-Permian mass extinction, the most severe biological crisis ...

The greatest mass extinction of all time was triggered by climatic conditions that are beginning to reappear today, ...

Volcanic eruptions in Siberia 251 million years ago may have started a cascade of events leading to high hydrogen sulfide levels in the oceans and atmosphere and precipitating the largest mass ...

"Welcome to the Black Triangle," said paleobiologist Cindy Looy as our van slowed to a stop in the gentle hills of the northern Czech Republic, a few miles from the German and Polish borders. The ...

Available to stream starting Wednesday, July 29, 2026 with KPBS+. Just before the Age of Dinosaurs, life was thriving on the ...