252 million years ago, the ocean tried to kill everything.
It nearly succeeded.
96% of marine species. 70% of land animals. Gone.
Scientists call it the Great Dying.
And a new Stanford-led study just found the smoking gun.
Massive eruptions.
Endless CO2 and methane pouring into the sky.
The planet cooked.
Oceans warmed. Oxygen crashed.
Sound familiar?
Lead researcher Jose Andres Marquez asked a simple question:
Why do we still pick up clam and snail shells today… but not brachiopods?
Turns out, it comes down to metabolism.
The scientists literally collected living brachiopods from Washington's San Juan Islands.
They tested them against modern species under rising heat.
The ancient survivors could handle low oxygen just fine… until temperatures rose.
Then their oxygen needs spiked — and their bodies couldn't keep up.
Erik Sperling, the senior author, didn't mince words.
"This is the final nail in the coffin for what caused the Permian-Triassic mass extinction."
Then he said something scarier.
"We are on track for Permian-Triassic levels of warming in worst-case scenario projections."
Let that sink in.
Today's oceans already have over 500 low-oxygen dead zones worldwide.
In the 1950s, there were fewer than 50.
📉 That's a 10x jump — and warming hasn't even peaked yet.
The animals that survive future warming won't be the toughest.
They'll be the ones with metabolisms built for speed.
History already ran this experiment once.
252 million years ago, slow lost everything.
Sperling left one door open though.
"We're still at the point where we can change things and do something about it."
The ocean already showed us the ending once.
This time, we get to choose whether it repeats.
That's all for now!
