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Extinction from a paleontological perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2009

David M. Raup
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Abstract

Extinction of widespread species is common in evolutionary time (millions of years) but rare in ecological time (hundreds or thousands of years). In the fossil record, there appears to be a smooth continuum between background and mass extinction; and the clustering of extinctions at mass extinctions cannot be explained by the chance coincidence of independent events. Although some extinction is selective, much is apparently random in that survivors have no recognizable superiority over victims. Extinction certainly plays an important role in evolution, but whether it is constructive or destructive has not yet been determined.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Review , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , July 1993 , pp. 207 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Academia Europaea 1993

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