Telogene-Tularean Extinction
52 million years hence
52 million years hence, the Telogene period came to an end. A long-dormant hotspot beneath Africa, which many millions of years ago had formed the Marrah Mountains, had resumed activity in the later Telogene, fueled by a new plume of magma from the mantle. This magma plume broke its way to the surface in what is now Mali. 200,000 years of continuously flowing lava devastated the ecosystems of western Africa, and the amount of gas released into the atmosphere caused rapid and severe climatic fluctuations. These conditions put stress on ecosystems worldwide, forcing species to adapt or die.
70% of all species went extinct in the Telogene-Tularean extinction event. Most of the large animals of the Telogene were heavily hit. Among mammals, ungulates, carnivorans, marsupials, xenarthrans, and most primates have gone extinct. Birds and non-avian reptiles also took hits in diversity, with many more specialized lineages such as monitor lizards, seabirds, and birds of prey disappearing. Amphibians, already battered by the Holocene extinction, entered the Proximozoic a dead clade walking. Other casualties of the Telogene-Tularean extinction included rays, cycads, and stony corals.
The survivors of the extinction were primarily generalized lineages. Rodents, rabbits, bats, and shrews made it through the extinction, having sustained their diversity since the end of the Holocene. Among birds, waterfowl, songbirds, parrots, and caprimulgiformes have survived. Many reptile lineages saw at least one representative through the extinction, with geckos and crocodilians doing particularly well afterward. These all radiated in the aftermath, attaining specialized lifestyles and reaching larger sizes. The following era, the Proximozoic, would display a more equal share of ecological dominance between mammals, birds, and squamates.
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