Leukonychia (or leuconychia), also known as white nails or milk spots, is a medical term for white discoloration appearing on nails. It is derived from the Greek words leuko (white) and onux (nail). The most common cause is injury to the base of the nail (the matrix) where the nail is formed.
Extinction Events. 1  There were many small-scale, sporadic extinction events during the Cambrian Period. 2  A large-scale mass extinction event occurred approximately 500 million years ago. 3  Scientists believe was caused by a significant decrease in global temperature. A large-scale mass extinction event occurred approximately 500 million years ago. 2  Scientists believe was caused by a significant decrease in global temperature. 3  Decrease in global temperature created an ice age-further eliminated many of the oceanic species.
In the popular mind, mass extinctions are associated with catastrophic events, like giant meteorite impacts and volcanic super-eruptions. But the worldâs first known mass extinction, which took place about 540 million years ago, now appears to have had a more subtle cause: evolution itself. âPeople have been slow to recognize that biological organisms can also drive mass extinction,â said Simon Darroch, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University.