This page outlines the fossil record's portrayal of life's history through geological eras, emphasizing significant events like mass extinctions driven by asteroid impacts, exemplified by the Alvarez ...This page outlines the fossil record's portrayal of life's history through geological eras, emphasizing significant events like mass extinctions driven by asteroid impacts, exemplified by the Alvarez theory and iridium layers. It discusses the influence of continental drift on species distribution and highlights key extinctions, including the Triassic and Permian extinctions, linking them to catastrophic events. These factors collectively have shaped the evolutionary trajectory of life on Earth.