Permian

Period of geological time 290-245 million years ago, the last period of the Palaeozoic era. Its end was marked by a dramatic change in marine life - the greatest mass extinction in geological history - including the extinction of many corals and trilobites. Deserts were widespread, terrestrial amphibians and mammal-like reptiles flourished, and cone-bearing plants (gymnosperms) came to prominence. In the oceans, 49% of families and 72% of genera vanished in the late Permian. On land, 78% of reptile families and 67% of amphibian families disappeared.