Overview
Extinctions are a normal part of the evolutionary process, and the background extinction rate is a measurement of “how often” they naturally occur. Normal extinction rates are often used as a comparison to present day extinction rates, to illustrate the higher frequency of extinction today than in all periods of non-extinction events before it.
Background extinction rates have not remained constant, although changes are measured over geological time, covering millions of years.
Read more about this topic: Background Extinction Rate