RE: Extinction

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@mailcity.com>]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2000 07:31:08   Nathan Myhrvold wrote:
>I believe that there is trackway evidence even closer that 1 meter to the KT
>boundary.
>
>Nathan
>

Yes, Nathan is correct.  This is spelled out in Lockley's book The Eternal 
Trail.  The tracks were actually found much less than 1 meter, as Nathan 
specified.  In 1990, on a field trip to southern Colorado, Lockely discovered 
tracks 15 inches (37 cm) below the boundary.  He didn't specify what dinosaur 
these tracks came from, but regardless they are a good indication that 
dinosaurs (at least some of them) were still thriving close to the KT boundary.

Steve
http://www.geocities.com/stegob

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Dinogeorge@aol.com [mailto:Dinogeorge@aol.com]
>Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 11:29 PM
>To: philidor11@snet.net
>Cc: dinosaur@usc.edu
>Subject: Re: Extinction
>
>
>In a message dated 3/24/00 0:34:28 AM EST, philidor11@snet.net writes:
>
><< Please remember that no dinosaur fossils have been found close to the K/T
> boundary.  A mathematical analysis has demonstrated that there might still
> have been dinos extant to go extinct at impact, but the same analysis
> demonstrates equally that some remnants might have survived for some time
> afterwards. >>
>
>Intensive dinosaur-bone surveys have closed the margin between the K-T 
>boundary and the highest-known non-reworked dinosaur fossils to a mere meter
>
>or so below the boundary clay, so I'm not at all clear on what you mean by 
>"close." One possible reason this gap hasn't closed even further is that so 
>far there are no known dinosaur-bearing strata anywhere in the world that 
>extend right up to the boundary clay layer. Dinosaur-bearing strata with a 
>profusion of dinosaur fossils are quite uncommon, and we're lucky to have 
>what we have.
>


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