Re: Theories on the extinction of dinosaurs

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/19/99 2:37:37 PM EST, Philidor11 writes:

<< Is it possible that this is one of those insoluble mysteries?   >>

It's pretty clear that there would have been no mass extinction without the 
impact. It is difficult to say what the fate of dinosaurs would have been had 
the impact not happened. Perhaps there would have been a general decline in 
dinosaur diversity through the Cenozoic paralleling a general rise in small 
mammal diversity. Perhaps a few new dinosaur groups would have evolved, and 
there might have been a greater diversity of large flightless predatory birds 
(the "new theropods"). Doubt that anything like humans would have appeared 
among the mammals.