Osaka City Museum of Natural History Special Exhibition: “The Great Extinctions: The Big Five in the History of Life”

In the 4 billion years since life first emerged, Earth has faced numerous crises that threatened life.
These were primarily caused by asteroid impacts from outer space and internal geological activity such as volcanic eruptions, but at times, life itself served as the trigger.
However, life has tenaciously overcome these crises each time, and by repeatedly allowing new groups to flourish in place of those that went extinct, it has increased its diversity.
In a sense, mass extinctions can be viewed as phenomena that have actually spurred the flourishing of life.
In this exhibition, we examine the five largest “mass extinction” events (commonly known as the “Big Five”) based on various evidence preserved in fossils and rocks, tracing the history of evolution in which living organisms fought for survival.