'Dead clades walking': Fossil record provides new insights into mass extinctions Groups of animals that survive an event but never fully recover are more common and long-lasting than expected Rafinesquina, seen in this close-up shot, was an ancient genus of brachiopod belonging to order Strophomenida. This order survived two mass extinction events, but the second represented a ‘death sentence’ from which they were unable to recover diversity, persisting for another hundred million years as a ‘dead clade walking’ before their eventual extinction. Image: Provided by Benjamin Barnes 'Dead clades walking': Fossil record provides new insights into mass extinctions Matthew Carroll