Eons: How Plants Caused the First Mass Extinction

9 minutes 31 seconds

Now Playing As: Captioned (English) (change)

In the middle of the Cambrian, life on land was about to get a little more crowded. And those newcomers would end up changing the world. The arrival of plants on land would make the world colder, drain much of the oxygen out of the oceans, and eventually, it would help cause a massive extinction event. Part of the "Eons" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 9 minutes 31 seconds

Topic: Science
Subtopic: Earth Sciences, Plants, Prehistoric Life
Grade/Interest Level: 10 - 12
Standards:

Release Year: 2020
Producer/Distributor: PBS Digital Studios
Series: Eons

A Wooly Rhino is grazing on the slope of a mountain.

Still image from: Eons: The Hellacious Lives of the "Hell Pigs"

A group of four legged terrestrial creatures. Caption: Synapsids.

A pair of Ichthyosaurs hunting prey in the sea.

Still image from: Eons: When We Met Other Human Species

Still image from: Eons: How Volcanoes Froze the Earth (Twice)

Still image from: Eons: How Earth's First, Unkillable Animals Saved the World

A giant deer roams a grassland.

An illustration depicts the dinosaur, Coelophysis, with new born Coelophysis in between its beak.

A painting depicts scientists comparing Piltdown Man's remains to other species. Charles Dawson and Sir Arthur Smith Woodward are seen standing together.