Great Dying: The Earth's Largest-Ever Mass Extinction Led to Evolution Resulting in Faster and Smarter Animal Species

Paleontologists from the United Kingdom and China collaborated to show that the natural world bounced back at an unprecedented rate following the End-Permian Extinction, in which animals evolved faster and smarter.

In a review titled "Triassic Revolution" published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science, scientists revealed that predators developed a more cunning hunting style, which forced their prey to become smarter. Even reptiles and birds have developed a more upright posture allowing them to move faster. Meanwhile, both birds and early mammals became warm-blooded.

The Great Dying: Earth's Largest Mass Extinction

Over 250 million years ago, way before dinosaurs walked on Earth, the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction took place on Earth. Per CBS News, that phenomenon was also called the "Great Dying," which killed 90% of life in the oceans and 70% on land.

Scientists claim that historic episodes like this offer a timely warning to the modern world of what could happen to the environment and ecosystems as global warming and climate change worsens. Evidence from scientific research suggests that today's pace of change is ominous for what could happen in the future.

The Great Dying was believed to have happened over the course of a million years with extensive volcanic activity in what is now Siberia, followed by cracks and crevices where oil and gas moved along and produced coronene. As a result, it created massive lava beds covering at least half of the US with a thickness of several miles.

The process gradually released gigantic amounts of carbon gases that impacted the ecosystems and forced land animals to adapt, move, or die. Unfortunately, 70% of them did not make it.

The atmospheric carbon dioxide was absorbed and formed sulfuric acid that acidified seas and disintegrated corals and shells, killing 90% of life on the sea.

Unprecedented Changes Observed After the Great Dying

After the Great Dying event, there was a massive rise in energy levels in both land and water species as they evolved faster and smarter. Study lead author Professor Michael Benton of the University of Bristol School of Earth Sciences said in a statement via Phys.org that everything was evolving fast based on the fossils they found in China.

Dr. Feixiang Wu of the Institute for Vertebrate Paleontology in Beijing explained that even ocean creatures evolved to have new hunting styles like their land counterparts. They are faster, snappier, and stronger than their ancestors.

They examined modern-style sharks and the long fish Saurichthys, which is known to ambush its prey, and other Triassic fishes and some reptiles from China adapted a skill in crushing shells using their teeth. They also found the first flying fish that likely evolved to escape from new predators.

Meanwhile, on land, the latest Permian lizards became more upright to move faster from being a slow-moving reptile that uses a kind of sprawling posture like modern lizards, MailOnline reported.

Additionally, birds learned to become upright in posture, which gave them more energy for longer strides. Both birds and mammals also developed hairs and feathers that acted as a form of insulation.

Researchers said that these major changes are called "arms races" like in the Cold War. When one side speeds up, the other matches it by increasing its pace. As a result, it created a competition between prey and predators. If predators get faster, the prey should do so too to escape and survive.

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