Fossils show quick rebound of life after ancient mass extinction| Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-extinction-idUSKBN15U2L3
Fossils including sharks, sea reptiles and squid-like creatures dug up in Idaho reveal a marine ecosystem thriving relatively
soon after Earth's worst mass extinction, contradicting the long-held notion life was slow to recover from the calamity.
Scientists on Wednesday described the surprising fossil discovery showing creatures flourishing in the aftermath of the worldwide
die-off at the end of the Permian Period about 252 million years ago that erased roughly 90 percent of species.
Even the asteroid-induced mass extinction 66 million years ago that doomed the dinosaurs did not push life to the brink of
annihilation like the Permian one.
The fossils of about 30 different species unearthed in Bear Lake County near the Idaho city of Paris showed a quick and dynamic
rebound in a marine ecosystem, illustrating the remarkable resiliency of life.
"Our discovery was totally unexpected," said paleontologist Arnaud Brayard of the University of Burgundy-Franche-Comté in France,
with a highly diversified and complex assemblage of animals.
The ecosystem from this pivotal time included predators such as sharks up to about 7 feet long (2 meters), marine reptiles and bony
fish, squid-like creatures including some with long conical shells and others with coiled shells, a scavenging crustacean with large
eyes and strangely thin claws, starfish relatives, sponges and other animals.
The Permian die-off occurred 251.9 million years ago. The Idaho ecosystem flourished 1.3 million years later, "quite rapid on
a geological scale," according to Brayard.
The mass extinction's cause is a matter of debate.