Theories Of The Extinction Of Dinosaurs

There are many theories explaining the extinction of the dinosaur. The Most probable theories are: a massive meteor hit the earth causing the extinction. B. A chain of volcano’s erupted and caused acid rain, shortage of sunlight and any other number of atmospheric problems that brought about the extinction of dinosaurs. C. Rapid Climate Change in a short period of time would have brought the dinosaurs to extinction because of an inability to evolve to the new environment. All these theories are possible but it is clear that it was a combination of all three theories working together that produced a worldwide extinction event.

Dinosaurs ruled the earth for over 65 million years and thankfully for the human race, they became extinct. Ultimately, only a major catastrophe could completely wipe out an entire species, let alone an entity of dinosaurs and the debacle on the causes of dinosaur extinction have flooded the minds of paleontologists for centuries. Geologist and zoologist Stephen Jay Gould published “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” to compare scientific and speculative causes of dinosaur decimation. Personally, I found this passage very informational and enjoyed reading it. Gould provides three theories that capture the reader’s curiosity, allowing room for pondering in one’s mind.

Four and a half billion years ago, the debris and dust left from the formation of the sun coalesced to form our home planet. 3.5 billion years ago, the first living organisms appeared on Earth. About 230 million years ago, Dinosaurs diverged from their Archosaurs ancestors during the middle to late Triassic period. For 160 million years they have dominated our planet. They are dubbed the most successful species to have lived on Earth. However, 65 million years ago, the most recent mass extinction seemed to have caused all of them to die-off. What caused the demise of the dinosaurs and 60% of life on Earth at the time? How did it affect life on Earth afterwards? Are all of the Dinosaurs dead? Will this happen to humans in the near future?

Stephen Gould’s essay “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of the Dinosaurs” completely agrees with Joseph Williams and Gregory Colomb’s essay “Argument, Critical Thinking, and Rationality.” Gould’s essay deals with three theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs, two of which he argues are entirely invalid because they are not in accordance with the basic rules of argument laid out by Williams and Colomb in their essay. Gould also states that the third theory of dinosaur extinction, natural disaster, follows all the rules that Williams and Colomb espouse, and thus is a sound argument. Gould, Williams, and Colomb all state that the world has a problem with irrational arguments being shoved down people’s throats, and call for a

The biggest mystery surrounding the dinosaur is how did they die? For over 130 million years dinosaurs ruled the earth. Then 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, they died out.

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, also known as the K-T extinction, was a global extinction event that struck the Yucatan Peninsula at the end of the end of the Mesozoic Era, 65 million years ago. Walter Alvarez first discovered a meteorite big enough to be called a small asteroid that hit the Earth, creating the Chicxulub crater. Once the asteroid struck the North American continent, there were igneous rocks underneath the crater that contained high levels of a rare siderophile element, iridium. This catrostopic event had a massive effect on the environment, as several mammals, birds, and plants became extinct. It also caused an impact winter that made it impossible for plants and plankton to photosynthesis, as 75% of inland animals and 90% of marine species were affected. Not only did it cause an impact winter, but the asteroid also caused volcanic eruptions, climate change and sea level rise. Geologists have also found rich dinosaur, plant and marine fossils to illustrate the K-T extinction. This event not only caused species to become extinct, but it also had an adaptive radiation, as other species were able to diversify.

The most well-known extinction event is when the dinosaurs went extinct, although they are not the only organism that perished. This event took place about 65 million years ago, between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods and wiped out nearly 75% of plants and animals (Principles of Biology). Our book says that most dinosaurs and many other sauropsid lineages died, but many lineages survived, including bird. Crocodiles are lineage of dinosaurs and are often studied to see how they have changed over millions of years, turtles are also part of the lineage that survived. Asteroid impact hypothesis which can be found in class rooms, some textbooks and on TV or in movies has been well explained and accepted as the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs. There is geological evidence that supports a large asteroid creating the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, but the supposed consequences of the event alone cannot account for the major extinctions (Principles of Biology). They say that something else had to also happen in order for all the diversity of animals that became extinct, which would be expected when such a large object impacted earth at what is thought to have been at a high speed too. Changes in sea level and massive volcanic eruptions were also altering the environment, so all this combined is likely what cause the diversity in the extinction event (Principles of

Since the 1980s the most popular theory for why dinosaurs became extinct was because of a meteor, but many people are skeptical of whether or not the meteor was the only factor in the extinction of the dinosaurs. In Stephen Brusatte’s “What Killed the Dinosaurs,” Dr. Brusatte talks about how the mystery of the extinction of the dinosaurs was a hug influence on his life and caused him to become what he is today. As a teenager Brusatte had a chance to talk to Walter Alvarez, the man who proposed the idea of a meteor being the cause for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Alvarez was able to come up with this hypothesis by examining the clay band between the Cretaceous period and the Paleogene period. The Cretaceous period was a time when the Earth had a surplus amount of dinosaurs and the Paleogene period was the time period directly after the Cretaceous period where dinosaurs had become extinct. When Alvarez studied the clay band he had discovered that the band was saturated in iridium which is an element common on meteors and asteroids. This led him to believe that a meteor may have led to the downfall of the dinosaurs.

In Stephen Jay Gould’s “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs”, Gould investigates three possible theories hypothesizing the reason behind the extinction of dinosaurs. The first theory suggests that dinosaurs became extinct due to a rise in temperature, which caused sperm to die, leading to the sterilization of male dinosaurs. The second hypothesis offer that many dinosaurs consumed bitter plants that contained psychoactive agents which their lives could not detoxify out of their systems. The last speculation about the dinosaur’s extinction is that a large cloud of dust formed in the atmosphere after an asteroid hit Earth’s surface. This dust cloud blocked out the sunlight, causing temperatures to drop and made photosynthesis impossible. Gould uses these three theories to lead to his central claim that science isn’t just about making fascinating claims, but should have a well developed hypothesis.

65 million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the planet. These fascinating animals were the largest, strongest creatures to ever walk the face of the earth, yet, they met a fate that would change the world forever. All that is left are the fossilized remains of these captivating creatures. Their fossils, along with the layers of our Earth’s rock and sediment, tell a story of how they lived and how they died. However, there is still an ongoing debate in the world of science of exactly what catastrophe caused these magnificent animals to take their last breathes and never reappear again. Was it a gigantic meteor or asteroid of some type or was it mass volcanos erupting all over the Earth? Whatever the reason, the dinosaurs disappeared from this

Over 98% of all organisms that have lived on Earth are now extinct. A mass extinction event occurs when a large number of species die out within a small time frame (relative to the age of Earth). Mass extinctions are intensively studied for both cause and effect, as there is usually room for debate regarding catalysts that precede the extinction and the massive influx of new biological species that follows. There have been five major mass extinctions, dubbed the “Big Five,” that have wiped out at least 50% of the species living at those times. The most well known mass extinction of the Big Five, with the decimation of every species of non-avian dinosaur, is the Cretaceous-Paleogene

So what killed the dinosaurs? Without having any background education in science it is hard for the general public to comprehend such matters and they rely on the knowledge of the scientists in this field. Although there has been much research on the subject nobody has come up with a conclusive answer. And we are left to read the countless articles, all having their own opinions as to the mass extinction. One such theory is that a shift in the solar system could have caused the mass destruction. According to an article published in Nature magazine,

Dinosaur extinction: An analysis of events and theories that possibly led to the dinosaurs' demise.

There were over 1,000 different species of dinosaurs (“Dinosaurs”) that lived and evolved for almost 185 million years (“Dinosaur Facts”). Dinosaurs were some of the largest and most mysterious creatures to walk the Earth. Dinosaurs have helped scientists to understand the Earth and it 's past by studying different types, how they lived, their characteristics and what caused their mass extinction.

Nobody knows for sure exactly how the dinosaurs became extinct. However scientists have speculated for decades about possible events that caused the dinosaurs to die out. Possibilities range from asteroids, to volcanoes, to climate changes. One of the more popular or well-known extinction theories involves the belief that an asteroid struck the Earth, causing devastating effects, and triggering mass extinctions around the end of the Cretaceous period.