At least six global mass extinctions suggest to me that you're correct. However, life itself did survive global magma flows, asteroid impacts, etc. With that

At least six global mass extinctions suggest to me that you're correct. However, life itself did survive global magma flows, asteroid impacts, etc. With that in mind I'd say the species that rules Earth is probably a single celled organism which lives deep underground and feeds on chemical gradients. You could blast the whole planet apart without life changing a whole lot for that little guy and his brethren.