About three quarters of all species on Earth died out in the Late Devonian mass extinction, though as a series of extinctions over several million years, rather than one event. Life that existed in shallow waters and seas were the the most affected; reefs were hit so hard that it was not until corals evolved over 100 million years later that reefs returned to their former glory. Aside from reef-building organisms, other groups that were hit hard include the brachiopods and the trilobites. During this time period, much of the sea bed became devoid of oxygen, which made it only sustainable for bacteria. Changes in sea level, asteroid impacts, climate change and new species of plants messing with the soil have all been probable causes for these extinctions.
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