Organisms

Permian organisms lived during the Permian Era, which lasted 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 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. It was also the last period of the Paleozoic era.