To be told the asteroid impact, in the Gulf of Mexico, was a "Mass-Extinction" event, is not exactly "New" news!
Undoubtedly the impact caused a "Nuclear-Winter" lasting between 2 and 3+ decades - which many animal species did not survive. But they were mainly the medium to large size dinosaurs!
The paleontological fossil-record now proves that many smaller, and particularly the feathered dinosaurs did survive, along with the few warm-blooded creatures which had evolved by that time. We are descended from those little furry animals, as the humble modern mouse now proves, sharing 99% of its genome with homo -sapiens!
I don't really know what qualifies as a "Mass-Extinction Event", but so many plant and animal species survived the impact, and the following "Nuclear-Winter", that I would hesitate to use that descriptive title!
All modern birds are direct descendants of the feathered dinosaurs - you only have to glance at an Ostrich to realize the structural similarities! And all crocodilians and Komodo Dragons are descended, without much change, from their dinosaur-ancestors as well.
Obviously, marine life suffered less than terrestrial life and many different types of fish (including Sharks and Coelacanthiformes), plus nearly all molluscs and cephalopods (the latter including Squid and Nautilus) had evolved well before the so-called "Mass Extinction Event" - and those species remain much-unchanged right through to today! And so the list of survivors grows, as our knowledge of paleontology grows.
So I don't know how anyone can still legitimately refer to that, undoubtedly terrible asteroid-impact, as a "Mass Extinction Event", it wasn't!
Undoubtedly the impact caused a "Nuclear-Winter" lasting between 2 and 3+ decades - which many animal species did not survive. But they were mainly the medium to large size dinosaurs!
The paleontological fossil-record now proves that many smaller, and particularly the feathered dinosaurs did survive, along with the few warm-blooded creatures which had evolved by that time. We are descended from those little furry animals, as the humble modern mouse now proves, sharing 99% of its genome with homo -sapiens!
I don't really know what qualifies as a "Mass-Extinction Event", but so many plant and animal species survived the impact, and the following "Nuclear-Winter", that I would hesitate to use that descriptive title!
All modern birds are direct descendants of the feathered dinosaurs - you only have to glance at an Ostrich to realize the structural similarities! And all crocodilians and Komodo Dragons are descended, without much change, from their dinosaur-ancestors as well.
Obviously, marine life suffered less than terrestrial life and many different types of fish (including Sharks and Coelacanthiformes), plus nearly all molluscs and cephalopods (the latter including Squid and Nautilus) had evolved well before the so-called "Mass Extinction Event" - and those species remain much-unchanged right through to today! And so the list of survivors grows, as our knowledge of paleontology grows.
So I don't know how anyone can still legitimately refer to that, undoubtedly terrible asteroid-impact, as a "Mass Extinction Event", it wasn't!
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