finally......
please...keep 'em small, on dial-up.
put....jpg" width="XXX">....thanks. :)
Posted on 07/16/2011 4:39:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A fossil discovered in Montana has given new momentum to the hypothesis that dinosaurs were thriving right up until a devastating meteor hit Earth 65 million years ago, causing their extinction.
Scientists from Yale University have found what is believed to be the youngest dinosaur fossil ever found, thought to be from just before the mass extinction took place.
The discovery, described in a study published in the online edition of the journal Biology Letters, contradicts the theory that the dinosaurs slowly went extinct before the cosmic impact.
The fossil -- a 45-centimetre horn believed to be from a triceratops -- was found in Montana's Hell Creek formation. It was located just below the K-T boundary, the band of the Earth's crust that represents the time period in which the meteor struck.
One of the main problems with the meteor theory has been the lack of any non-avian dinosaur fossils buried within 10 feet of the boundary -- known as the 'three metre gap.'
The absence of fossils, some paleontologists say, indicates dinosaurs were already extinct when the cosmic impact occurred.
Yale paleontologist Tyler Lyson, lead author of the study, says the new discovery proves otherwise.
"To all of our surprise the boundary was no more than 13 centimetres above this horn, and the significance is this indicates that at least some dinosaurs were doing quite well in this locale at the time of the meteor impact," he told CTV.ca.
There is evidence that avian dinosaurs thrived up to and into the K-T boundary. In fact, they are believed to have survived the meteor and evolved into modern-day birds.
(Excerpt) Read more at ottawa.ctv.ca ...
You would expect to see lots of fossils right up to the boundary, in fact, if all died at once there should be ample evidence. I would agree with you that the asteroid was the last straw. However the lack of fossils just after the strike shows a widespread extinction combination of events.
I'm still going with Alley Oop riding Dinny the Dinosaur. Dinny survived the meteor (hung out underwater with the Loch Ness monster) and had a very long life span.
This should have been posted under Comedy.
>> “I think there was more than one reason why the giant reptiles and giant mammals died out.” <<
.
Must have been, since a bunch of them were still very much alive when the temple at Ankor Wat was built, otherwise how would they have gotten those carvings so perfect?
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>> “Well, a 65 miles across rock racing at the earth at 17,000 miles per hour plus would cause a rather sever stress on the animals and their environment.” <<
.
The very first Montana Derby... ( oh, that was Kentucky...)
finally......
please...keep 'em small, on dial-up.
put....jpg" width="XXX">....thanks. :)
And when was that?
The comet/meteor/asteroid strike didn’t kill all the giant reptiles/mammals.
But, it killed their food.
Do you have a better answer?
Since 99% of all species that have ever existed on Earth have gone extinct, why is it that the dinosaurs going extinct is such a big deal?
Everything is simple, and yet amazingly complex at the same time.
Wow, that’s really disturbing. I mean, even more than the usual pics that float around. Yow.
Yes. But I find yours very entertaining.
Lol. True. :-)
The early 12th century, according to the archaeologists.
I wasn’t there myself, so I can neither confirm nor deny.
Perhaps simply because so many that were claimed to be extinct are not.
>> “A meteor/comet that large would punch a large hole in the ozone, and allow the atmosphere to escape into space.” <<
.
A meteor would cancel the gravitational field of the Earth?
That doesn’t even rise to the level of good SciFi.
I’ve been to Gledive MT. Spent a week there one night.
Yale Scientists Discover the Last Living Dinosaur
Don’t tell the alligators that.
They might not take it well... and po’d gators can really wreck your day...
But, you se, the gators don’t count because anyone that’s been to Florida knows that they’re still here. The less common ones are harder to encounter (and much more expensive to...) so they sort of get away with the BS.
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