Posted on 08/02/2008 11:40:34 PM PDT by Libloather
Dinosaurs Diversified Over Time, Not Suddenly
Many Species, Many, Many Years
July 23, 2008
The belief that dinosaurs underwent explosive species diversification just before they were wiped out is an illusion, for the beasts' main evolutionary shifts took place millions of years before, a study says.
The strange demise of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous era some 65 million years ago has given rise to a popular view that almost has the tinge of Greek tragedy.
Just as the rulers of the Earth had reached their evolutionary zenith, a catastrophic event -- possibly a space rock that slammed into Earth -- brought the curtain down on their long reign.
Scientific support for this view comes the number of dinosaur fossils dating from a period called the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, between 125 million to 80 million years ago, when Earth's book of life was changed forever.
During this epoch of riotous biodiversity, flowering plants, social insects, butterflies, modern groups of lizards, mammals, and possibly birds, too, all emerged.
Some experts have suggested that dinosaurs were also part of the show, as so many weird fossils, such as duckbilled hadrosaurs, horned ceratopsians, pachycephalosaurs and other wonders, date from this time.
But a new study, published on Wednesday in a British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, says that dinosaurs were less than a sideshow in the DNA spectacular.
Researchers led by Graeme Lloyd of the University of Bristol, western England, devised a "supertree" of dinosaur evolution, patiently analyzing how more than 450 species -- about 70 percent of the known finds -- developed.
(Excerpt) Read more at dsc.discovery.com ...
The same way some envior-nuts are obsessed with cow flatulence? I doubt it.
My ex.
As long as it was her doing the complaining...
I'm going with Tom on this one. Plankton? That smells fishy.
Zatso? Here's a hint: Don't stand under the whale skeleton mounted at your local natural history museum or aquarium.
It takes decades for all the fats and oils in the marrow to drip out.
From the lack of substantive factual response, I gather you have no opposing facts. I'm encouraged that others have considered an alternate theory for oil formulation. Years ago, in the seventies, oil crisis the "experts" like yourself predicted peak oil within years. Yet here we are, with more oil than ever before. Am I to understand those "experts" were wrong. And "you and the current experts" are now right ???
The reality that oil companies do not hit oil 100% does not validate the fossil theory either. And your reply shows a general misunderstanding of oil migration thru the subsurface.
Poop would have to drift down. Naturally formed oil drifts up.
Why is oil always found associated with fossil plants?
You got me. Again - just who started this 'fossil' fuel rumor in the first place?
I’ll put my 29 years in the oil business working for a major oil company up against any of your credentials.
Whatcha got?
And it wasn't the oil companies predicting that, brainiac.
Do you ever post any factual replies that do not contain personal attacks ?
Oh, I get it. You can dish it out by attacking me and then whine if you get a little back.
I didn’t know I would hurt your feelings.
>They sunk.
Present ocean bottom observation does not support your response. The bottom of 90% of the ocean is devoid of any organic debris because it is eaten by other ocean dwelling creatures on the way down and at the bottom, so that by time it settles on the bottom only bones remain. There is NO WAY to form oil from bones.
It was a joke ace (How does something get to the bottom of the ocean?...... It sinks.).
I worked for an oilfield service company (technical end) for 30 years, I am aware of several theories concerning the formation of petroleum, natural gas and coal. Some theories are well within reason and some require you to have a loose screw to believe. Believe whatever you want to, no problem from me.
Nuff said.
My feelings are just fine. It’s simply that you won’t engage in a serious, deliberative discussion. You use name calling to attempt to elevate your responses and denigrate others. You use insult to hide your lack of responses. You claim to have all these years of oil industry experience and yet can’t spare the time to educate anyone. What’s the point ??
What did I do in Post 74?
What exactly do you want me to do?
There’s one huge problem with the idea that oil seeps up from the earth’s core, and that is that oil can’t survive the temperatures there, much less form.
We find rock containing natural gas and evidence that it once contained oil, but it cooked too much. It’s gone. Much was converted to natural gas, but there’s no oil there anymore. Too hot.
It’s fundamentally impossible for oil to seep up from an environment too hot for it to exist.
“An oil guy THOUGHT? Apparently, he doesn’t know.”
Thought is my word, not his. You miss the bigger picture if your focus is semantics.
There were a couple of “depleted” reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico that have regenerated. I think Rush Limbaugh was talking about this awhile back.
The least we could do is be open minded.
To tell you the truth, I think the liberal politicians are playing on our fears, and want to frighten us into thinking that we will run out of oil. Funny how OPEC doesn’t run out.
btw, Russia decided to drill more deeply than anybody thought was possible, and they now are now No. 2 with their oil reserves.
We have so much UNTAPPED OIL, so it would be easier to obtain, and we could dig deeper, as well, when we have to.
The escalating cost of finding, drilling, and recovering oil and the resulting payment imbalances and national security implications make for compelling reasons to seek alternatives to oil. Otherwise, we will soon find ourselves under the thumb of the Saudis and the Russians.
Alternatives are fine, but oil is better, and faster. We need to do it all.
EXCEPT, don’t use food for fuel:
Ethanol and Hunger:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=292806444260566
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