Mystery solved: Why large dinosaurs avoided the tropics for millions of years

FoxNews.com/science ^ | June 17, 2015 | Walt Bonner

[ETL]

New research has revealed why it took more than 30 million years for large Triassic dinosaurs to populate the tropics after they first appeared on Earth, ending a mystery that has kept researchers baffled for decades. Using new geological evidence culled from Ghost Ranch, N.M., researchers from the University of Southampton in the U.K. have found that an extremely unpredictable hot and arid climate due to elevated carbon dioxide levels (four to six times of what they are today) kept large herbivorous dinos at bay until after 200 million years ago.

[ETL]

The article claims only the large ones didn’t go there. Or at least little if any fossil evidence has been found there (yet?).

[Kenny500c]

Somebody should do a poll that asks the man or woman on the street if they would support a global tax to eliminate CO2 from the atmosphere. Of course we would all die if it were even possible to get to 0% CO2 because there would be no plant growth.

[ETL]

Which is really ironic, since the left-wing political activists running the movement describe themselves as “Green”. Yet more CO2 = more (green) plants

[JimSEA]

Yeah, unfortunately it’s been going on as long as modern science. Eugenics, phrenology, Piltdown Man, ESP, and so on. Fortunately, thus far the methodology of science has self corrected in the long run but there has certainly been a lot of damage and even loss of life in the short run.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ETL.

[SunkenCiv]

Ooh look! UK BS!

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[SunkenCiv]

[dila813]

Here’s my theory.....they were in the tropics all along but we assumed our inability to find their bones indicated that they weren’t.

The environment in the tropics combined with the insects and animals makes the preservation of large carcasses very rare.

[ETL]

"Hi, I'm Officer Trey Ceratopsi... I'll be handling your case now"

"Hi, I'm Officer Trey Ceratopsi... I'll be handling your case now"

[ETL]

Wouldn’t the preservation of smaller ones be even rarer? Something is likely to remain from a large caucus.

[dila813]

No, a smaller carcass can be preserved by mud from a storm, a large carcass isn’t going to be engulfed as easily.

In the tropics, you need somehow to completely seal the bones very soon after the animal dies, or there won’t be a trace.

[ETL]

But you seem to be talking about a complete intact caucus. Isolated bones or fragments from a large animal can be preserved and possibly identified.

[ETL]

Never mind. I see what you mean.

[HChampagne]

No giant dinos during the Triassic.

[dila813]

Yes, and they might still be.

But I have even seen completely obliterated bones.

I was trying to find a video of a pig that died in Panama where there wasn’t a trace after 72hrs.

Nature is freaking amazing.

A way to test this would be to look for other large animal bones being preserved there today. If you can find them just sitting around in the forest or on the beach, then I am wrong.

But I haven’t seen that anywhere in the tropics where bones can remain for more than a few days.

[ETL]

Large doesn’t necessarily mean gigantic as in the huge sauropods of the Jurassic.

[SunkenCiv]

Freakin’ hiring quotas...

[ETL]

Yes, apparently every county in that state is required to have at least one late-Cretaceous ceratopsian on their police force.

[Pollster1]

Total nonsense. Variations in solar output cause climate change.

Total nonsense. No liberal would believe that the sun could affect the earth's temperature, not at a distance of 93 million miles. It's got to be SUVs or eating meat that is doing it. Dinosaurs ate meat; that's probably what did them in.

[RedMonqey]

212 million years ago northern New Mexico was dry and hot with common wildfires. Early carnivorous dinosaurs were small and rare, whereas other reptiles were quite common


Sooooooooo (climate-wise) it was pretty much like northern New Mexico TODAY!

Gee, these eggheads are Geniuses!!!/sarc (SMH)