Mass? Extinctions

In science, they tend to extrapolate in history that there were at least 5 mass extinctions on this planet.

There are many records of it in many fields of science. Most mass extinctions are those which exterminate 60% or more of life forms. It would seem that it would be total extermination of species. But was it?

Many species survived, partially. Which means it was not total in all cases.

Two major areas of life seem to defy total extinction despite the onset of catastrophic events. And for why did some species survive during the catastrophic events? It was not always some large mass impacting the world that brought about the catastrophes. It seems few were caused by mass impact.

The sea is a very insular abode on this planet. It is deep, water can absorb a lot of impact. Creatures can dwell on the bottom or in the silt and have better protection than exposed land animals. Yet, it is said at least twice there were events where some species of aquatic life were exterminated but others exposed to the same situation somehow survive.

On the exposed land, even there some species died out while others remained. Take elephants, there were many sizes, Woolly Mammoths. Mastodons, and some smaller down to the size of dogs. Yet, at some juncture some of them but not all became extinct and were subject to the same situation. For an unexplained reason the woolly elephants died out but the hairless ones survived.

Something else must have interceded that some survive and others did not. The idea that the food chain or availability was compromised does not completely address that, as in the cases of the aqua life and elephants. Food varieties were accessible during and after the events. Some survived. More corroborative detail is needed.

Perhaps the agent involved was more subtle than a large mass or rock causing a temporary climate change. It could be due to solar flares or certain subtle wavelengths of microwaves rather than rock mass impact brought about change of living conditions. Perhaps sustained geothermal events contributed. Perhaps adaptation by mutation became prominent then.

Some science studies indicate that species of dinosaurs were already dying out before the putative rock mass struck the planet.

Note: the material herein is not necessarily a reflection of entropy of current societies.