Richard Twitchett

Richard Twitchett, based at the Natural History Museum in London, has published extensively on the end-Permian mass extinction, which occurred approximately 252 million years ago. His research focuses on the prolonged biological recovery intervals and the environmental factors—such as ocean anoxia and acidification—that delayed the rebound of marine ecosystems.

Richard Twitchett is a paleontologist and geologist at the Natural History Museum in London. He has also been associated with other UK academic institutions, including the University of Plymouth, over the course of his career.

Twitchett's research examines the "Lilliput effect," a phenomenon where organisms that survive mass extinction events are significantly smaller than their pre-extinction counterparts. He has documented body-size reductions in marine fossils from the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction, linking them to environmental stress and reduced oxygen levels.

Yes, Twitchett has published papers drawing parallels between the environmental drivers of ancient mass extinctions—particularly rapid carbon cycle disruptions—and modern anthropogenic climate change. His work helps contextualize how current ocean warming and acidification could affect marine ecosystems by studying analogous events in the fossil record.