Life on the Edge

Will a mass extinction usher in a world of weeds and pests?

About 250 million years ago, life went into shock. Set in motion by forces of geology and climate, a great wave of extinction wiped out well over 70 percent of all species on Earth.

“The Neozoic Era,” 40 x 60 inches. Paintings in this story will appear in “Future Evolution” by Peter Ward with images by Alexis Rockman, to be published in January 2002 by Times Books/Henry Holt.