What are Some Permian Organisms?
Permian organisms lived during the Permian period, which extended from about 299 to 251 million years ago, for a total length of roughly 48 million years. The period opened with an era of glaciation similar to the relatively recent Ice Ages of modern geologic times, then warmed up midway through the period. Sea levels rose accordingly, producing large continental seas friendly to marine life. The Permian era ended with the most severe mass extinction in the history of life, the end-Permian extinction, which wiped out 95% of marine genera and 70% of terrestrial genera. The Permian is also the last period of the Paleozoic era. The supercontinent of Pangaea formed during the Permian, locking up all the continental landmasses in the world except for a microcontinent about half the size of Australia called South China. This large landmass caused the interior of the supercontinent to be extremely dry, while terrestrial animals spread all over it. The continent of Pangaea straddled the equato
