Capitanian Extinction (260 million years ago)

The Capitanian Extinction, often overshadowed by the later Permian-Triassic mass die-off, devastated tropical marine communities with an estimated 35 to 47 percent species loss. Triggered by the Emeishan volcanic eruptions in present-day China—which covered over 250,000 square kilometers in lava—the event was slower than the average Permian crisis, but its impact on reef ecosystems was even more severe. This extinction is narrower in scope than #6 (the Holocene Extinction) but still ranks as one of the most significant marine biodiversity collapses of the Paleozoic, preceding the planet's worst extinction by just 8 million years.