The Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7) "I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish." (Genesis 6:17)
But Genesis says:
But Genesis says:
Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark.... (Genesis 7:8-9) Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing. (Genesis 7:15)
And Genesis says:
Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:21-23)
And Genesis says:
Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:21-23)
See biblegateway.com for a rich variety of translations. NIV, their default, is quoted here.
Commentary
In other words:
The Ark saved from extinction everything that breathed
The Ark saved from extinction all animals (repeated thee times) that would be drowned ("every creature that has the breath of life").
Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. (Genesis 7:15)
The animals going in were male and female of every living thing. (Genesis 7:15)
Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. (Genesis 7:22) Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:23)
The flood did not destroy underwater life
All other animals that could be drowned ("breath of life" repeated two times; 6:17 and 7:22) died.
"I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it." (Genesis 6:17)
Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. (Genesis 7:15)
Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. (Genesis 7:22)
By consistent and complete rhetorical exclusion with the repeated "breath of life" qualifier, animals that would not be drowned were neither saved in the ark nor wiped from the earth.
Paraphrasing God
In short, "I will obliterated the human race, and all air-breathing creatures will be collateral damage. But since I don't intend to make a new creation, I will save 'pairs of all' air-breathing creatures on the ark. It goes without saying that the water dwelling creatures will of course not be affected by a flood."
Conclusion
To make an extinction event out of Noah's flood, I think you would have to contradict the plain meaning, emphasized by repetition, of God's expressed intentions and actions in Genesis to save "pairs of all creatures".
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