Match each extinction to its appropriate characteristic. 1. cretaceous-tertiary possibly caused by forest grow on earth's land surface 2. end triassic possibly caused by massive rifting of earth's surface 3. permian-triassic the earliest mass extinction on record 4. late devonian worst mass extinction in earth's history 5. ordovician-silurian killed off the dinosaurs

Mass extinction refers to the procedure in which a huge number of species gets extinct suddenly.  

The following are the correct matches of the events taken place in the mentioned time period:  

1. Cretaceous-Tertiary: The mass extinction of dinosaurs took place.  

2. End-Triassic: Possibly resulting due to massive rifting of the surface of the Earth.  

3. Permian-Triassic: It is considered the worst mass extinction in the history of the Earth.  

4. Late Devonian: It is possibly a result of the growth of forest on the land surface of the Earth.  

5. Ordovician-Silurian: The earliest mass extinction took place at this time.  

explanation:

the fossil record extends back to a dog-like ancestor some 55 million years ago, which gave rise to the first horse-like species 55 to 42 million years ago in the genus eohippus.

the correct option is option d