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Out with a whimper not a bang

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

W. A. Clemens ,
J. David Archibald  and
Leo J. Hickey
W. A. Clemens
Affiliation:
Department of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
J. David Archibald
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
Leo J. Hickey
Affiliation:
Division of Paleobotany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560
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Extract

The recurring debate over the causes of the massive extinctions of such groups as the dinosaurs, ammonites, and calcareous nannoplankton, and the crash of the distinctive Aquilapollenites pollen province, used by biostratigraphers to mark the close of the Cretaceous, has been considerably enlivened with the resurgence of hypotheses suggesting catastrophic events. The impact of an asteroid, explosion of a supernova, sudden changes in oceanic circulation and composition, or atmospheric perturbations, to mention a few, have been put forward as malefactors. But, just how sound is the evidence of a biotic catastrophe?

Information

Type
Current Happenings
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , Summer 1981 , pp. 293 - 298
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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