Permian was still a cold period in the Southern Hemisphere and
Australia was
still connected to Gondwana continent.
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As during the Carboniferous period, Australia
was still very
actively volcanic.
In north Queensland
for example, there were volcanoes in
Torres
Strait, Cooktown,
Atherton
Tablelands, Chillagoe,
inland from Townsville,
Eungella, and Bowen
Basin, that
were
active for 80 million years.
In New
South Wales,
Permian granites
now form much of the New England region.
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While during
the Carboniferous
period most of the plants were still
spore-bearing,
the Permian vegetation is characterised by seed-bearing plants. This is
a major step in plant evolution.
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In the end of Permian, as the climate started getting warmer, there
was a global mass
extinction,
known as the greatest extinction of life
on Earth. About 80% of all animal species were wiped out although
plants seemed to cope.
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There are theories about a meteorite, dust
clowds, or the Siberian Basalt eruption causing the extinction, but it
is not exactly known what happened.
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