Re: dino extinction

[Tom Holtz <tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov>]

>Is there any record of dinosaur extinction during the mass volcanism 140
>million years ago?  I'm referring to the Ontong-Java Plateau flood
>basalts near present day New Guineau.

Given the fairly poor record of dinosaurs in the early part of the Early
Cretaceous (the only good ones from Europe, and scattered bits in the
western U.S. and South America), it is hard to say for certain.  Bakker
interprets the record as showing a large extinction then, but almost all
lineages present in the Late Jurassic are found in the early Early
Cretaceous (Megalosauroidea, Allosauridae, Diplodocidae, Dicraeosauridae,
Camarasauridae, Brachiosauridae, Titanosauria, Stegosauridae,
Polacanthidae, Nodosauridae, Hypsilophodontidae, Dryosauridae,
Iguanodontia).

                                
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.                                   
tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov
Vertebrate Paleontologist in Exile                  Phone:      703-648-5280
U.S. Geological Survey                                FAX:      703-648-5420
Branch of Paleontology & Stratigraphy
MS 970 National Center
Reston, VA  22092
U.S.A.