Final answer:
Evidence in the fossil record points to five major asteroid impacts causing mass extinctions, of which the end of the Cretaceous is the most famous, marking the demise of the dinosaurs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Evidence in the fossil record points to five major asteroid impacts that have caused mass extinctions in which 50%–96% of life on Earth died out. Paleontologists have identified five mass extinctions in Earth's history that have had an enormous impact on life by rapidly killing a large percentage of species.
While there may have been several events that could qualify as mass extinctions, these five are the most significant and have attracted the most research.
Notable among them is the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event approximately 65 million years ago, often known as the 'great dying,' which is primarily attributed to the impact of a large asteroid and marked the end of the dinosaurs, clearing the way for mammalian diversification.