Global warming generates predictable extinction patterns of marine benthic invertebrates following a simple model of habitat loss

Anthropogenic global warming is expected to raise extinction risk and both warm- and cold-water organisms may be threatened. Here, we relate extinction risk of ancient marine animals directly to seawater temperature estimates sourced from paleoclimate models. During times of rapid global warming, extinction trends imperil marine invertebrates from habitats warmer than ~21°C and increasingly for habitats cooler than ~11°C. Simulated results implicate the uneven loss of thermal habitat as spherical geometry of the globe interacts with the temperature-latitude relationship. Cold-water habitats face annihilation within centuries.