Differential Survival Across the K-T Boundary

Why did dinosaurs suddenly disappear about 65 million years ago, while many mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians survived? We propose that the decades-long global cooling period caused by either asteriod impact or Deccan volcanism had a differential effect on dinosaur eggs versus bird and reptile eggs, such that many bird and reptile eggs hatched, but dinosaur eggs did not. This resulted in a 'dead generation' that wiped out a 100 million years of dominance in just a few decades.

Differential Survival Across the K-T Boundary

Thursday, March 15, 2012

A New Theory on Why the Dinosaurs Perished but Reptiles, Birds, Mammals and Amphibians Did Not