 |
||
| · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe · | ||
Posted on 09/28/2009 7:54:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
When a comet crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago, all hell broke loose. Scientists have guessed at the scene: a world enshrouded in ashen darkness leftover from the cosmic impact that left almost nothing -- including the dinosaurs -- standing. But a new study shows that in western Europe at least, the effects were far less terrifying. Fossil leaves from four million years after the impact show that plants and insects had made a full recovery... Previous evidence from western North America shows that up to 60 percent of plant species died out after the impact along with many insects that relied on them to survive... A single record from New Zealand shows a similarly muted impact on plants there. It wasn't enough to save the dinosaurs, though. The findings suggest there was no global inferno, but instead a blanket of debris that cast a dim pall over the planet. Unable to access sunlight, plants that were critical sources of food quickly died. Even areas like western Europe, where the effects were less severe, the famine lasted long enough to wipe the big animals out.
(Excerpt) Read more at dsc.discovery.com ...
|
||
| · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe · | ||
Chicxulub : The Dinosaur’s End...
BigEdLB, being an odd sort, put this event to music...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=730554&songID=6276808
The other 3 orders are (1) crocodiles and their relatives, (2) turtles, (3) snakes and lizards.
Yeah, the dinos were pretty much anywhere there was land at the time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.