Answer: Although the best-known cause of a mass extinction is the asteroid impact that killed off the non-avian dinosaurs, in fact, volcanic activity seems to have wreaked much more havoc on Earth's biota. Volcanic activity is implicated in at least four mass extinctions, while an asteroid is a suspect in just one. Examples, of mass extinctions are Permian extinction of marine species, and Cretaceous extinction of various species, including dinosaurs.