There are many different theories of the creation of the world and its development. And they are similar only in one thing: dinosaurs really existed. And this can be confirmed by a number of evidence. However, until now, no one can say with certainty why the dinosaurs became extinct. There are only a number of hypotheses explaining the possible reasons for the extinction of an entire population of these creatures.

Dinosaurs are classified as terrestrial vertebrates that lived in the Mesozoic era until the very end of the Cretaceous period. Their ancestors are considered to be reptiles, which are similar in structure to modern lizards. The appearance of dinosaurs on Earth is considered the result of a mutation of reptiles due to climate change.

Based on this and other knowledge about dinosaurs, various hypotheses began to emerge as to why they disappeared.

asteroid impact

This hypothesis is based on the assumption that at the end of the Mesozoic era a huge asteroid fell to Earth. The dust that rose after the fall did not settle for a long time. The rays of the sun scattered in it, which led to cold weather and almost complete darkness. Absence sunlight significantly slowed down or completely stopped processes important for the inhabitants of the planet (for example, photosynthesis).

Most plants and animals died out or were rebuilt to new living conditions. And dinosaurs were no exception. A complete restructuring of the entire marine and terrestrial range began. Clay layers found in all corners of the world, in which platinum elements, including iridium, significantly predominate, confirm this version. This substance is rarely found in the earth's crust, but it is an integral part of meteorites.

Glaciers

One of the reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs is considered to be the onset of the ice age. The cooling occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period, but many scientists tend to believe that this phenomenon was observed much later. Not a single form of life that existed at that time was ready for such sharp climatic changes.

There is no clear answer to the question of what influenced the movement of glaciers. And if we compare the chronology of this event with the biblical texts, we can assume that instead of glaciers there was a massive flood.

Volcanic activity

This version is rather the reason explaining the onset of the ice age and, as a result, the extinction of dinosaurs.

It is assumed that at the end of the Cretaceous period, most volcanoes on Earth began to show excessive activity. This led to shifts in the earth's crust. Volcanic dust and ash have affected the change in temperature. But such a process was supposed to take place not spontaneously, but gradually, so all the giant lizards could not die.

Natural selection

AT modern world no one is surprised by the statements that many species of plants and animals are on the verge of extinction. Everyone is well aware that this is mainly influenced by anthropogenic factors.

However, it can be assumed that the dinosaurs were killed not climate change, and the neighboring population. It is only in R. Kipling's "The Jungle Book" that animals say to each other: "You and I are of the same blood." In life, the strongest population survives - this is the essence of natural selection.

Epidemic

Based on the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin, bacteria and microbes appeared before all other forms of life on Earth. The processes of evolution did not bypass them, and these microorganisms mutated. Thanks to such statements, a new hypothesis was born about why the giant lizards died out.

Any living organism adapts to changing environmental conditions, but not all inhabitants of the Earth can live with different bacteria on the principles of mutualism (“mutually beneficial cohabitation”). Therefore, the version that the dinosaurs were killed by an epidemic has the right to life. It is possible that most of the epidemics that at one time destroyed a huge number of people millions of years ago destroyed the dinosaurs.

The proof of this theory can only be knowledge of certain properties of microorganisms. The fact is that bacteria survive under a variety of environmental conditions. In severe frosts, they do not die, but only fold into a cyst. This shell allows microbes to live for a huge number of years in the so-called sleep mode. As soon as the conditions again become suitable for the life of microorganisms, they “wake up” and begin to multiply.

Hunger

One of the most unfounded versions of the death of dinosaurs is the lack of food. There is a theory that the resources on the planet will someday not be enough for everyone, and this will lead to the end of the world. Such assumptions, though easy to prove by simple calculations, but they concern the future.

It can be assumed that the dinosaurs survived all the climate changes, but the plants that they ate did not survive. But this only explains the death of herbivorous mammals. Where, then, did the lizard predators go?

Change in the force of gravity of the Earth

One of the most recent versions says that giant lizards have disappeared due to an increase in the Earth's gravity. The theory is based on the fact that the planets gradually increase in size. This means that their mass and attractive force also increase. Such a circumstance could well have affected the mobility of dinosaurs, as well as other creatures.

To understand why this happens, we can recall an example of such a phenomenon as complete weightlessness in outer space on ships. That is, the lower the force of attraction, the easier it is to move. The weight of the dinosaurs was too great, and their body could really not be able to adapt to such changes. Every day it became harder and harder for them to move, which made it much more difficult to find food and their life processes in general.

Are dinosaurs still alive?

While some scientists are puzzling over the reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs, others put forward hypotheses that these creatures did not become extinct at all, and find confirmation of this!

Such hypotheses were initially based on the fact that some legends of different peoples are confirmed. And many legends spoke of magical creatures - dragons, which people began to destroy in ancient times. They found their salvation in caves and rocks located very far from human settlements. All descriptions of magical creatures are similar to those of dinosaurs.

At the moment, more and more information appears about chupacabra and other strange creatures that live in the mountains, forests and under water. And there is already a lot of evidence of their existence. For example, the Nessie monster that lives in Loch Ness.

A life form similar to the Loch Ness monster was seen in the Jökulsau-au-Dal River (Iceland) and in Lake Windervin (England). Eyewitnesses claim that the monster looks like prehistoric reptiles, it has a huge body and a long neck and has fins. The first mention of this creature is in the records of the Roman legionnaires, who at that time fought with the Celts. It is possible that the monster is a direct descendant of dinosaurs.

In 1915, the German submarine I-28 blew up the English steamship Iberia. In the logbook, the sailors noted that the ship sank too quickly and exploded at a depth of 1,000 meters. The wreckage of the ship floated to the surface of the water. Among them, the crew saw a strange creature that looked like a crocodile with four flippers.

The length of the sea monster was about 20 meters. This fact drew the attention of cryptozoologists. After a thorough study of the issue, they concluded that, most likely, the monster is none other than the mosasaurus, which is considered extinct for a long time.

But the clearest evidence that not all dinosaurs died is the tuatara. It is often confused with the common lizard. However, scientists have proven that this is not a descendant of one of the dinosaur species, but a real three-eyed dinosaur.

Dinosaurs(lat. Dinosauria, from other Greek δεινός - terrible, terrible, dangerous and σαῦρος - lizard, lizard) - a superorder of terrestrial vertebrates that dominated the Earth in the Mesozoic era - for more than 160 million years, starting from the upper Triassic period (approximately 225 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago), when most of them began to die out during the large-scale extinction of animals and many varieties of plants in a relatively short geological period of history. Dinosaur fossils have been found on all continents of the planet. Now paleontologists have described more than 500 different genera and more than 1000 different species, which are clearly divided into two orders: ornithischians and lizards.

The most famous versions of the extinction of dinosaurs

Nobody knows the exact reason. But there are a lot of theories about the death of dinosaurs. Most of them suggest that there has been some kind of strong change in the climate of our planet that has damaged many living organisms, not just dinosaurs. The most popular theory claims that dinosaurs and other animal species died out due to one terrible universal catastrophe: 65 million years ago, the Earth collided with an asteroid, and at the same time there was a terrible explosion. Interesting fact: In addition to dinosaurs, flying reptiles and a large number of marine life died out 65 million years ago.

Asteroid hypothesis

Story

Examining clay deposits in layers of the earth's crust dated as deposited 65 million years ago, scientists found a large content of iridium in these rocks. Iridium is rarely found on Earth, since during the formation of our planet, iridium, as a heavy element, plunged deep underground and is mainly located near the earth's core. Iridium comes to Earth only from space, when meteorites and asteroids fall from the sky. Scientists have found iridium in ancient clayey deposits all over the world. Here is their conclusion: iridium fell out of a cloud of dust that was thrown into the atmosphere when an asteroid collided with Earth. Thus, the fall of an asteroid is one of the most common versions.

It is based mainly on the approximate timing of the formation of the Chicxulub crater (which is the aftermath of a 10 km asteroid impact about 65 million years ago) in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and the extinction of most of the extinct dinosaur species. In addition, celestial-mechanical calculations show that asteroids larger than 10 km collide with the Earth on average about once every 100 million years, which, in order of magnitude, corresponds, on the one hand, to the dates of known craters left by such meteorites, and on the other – time intervals between the peaks of extinctions of biological species in the Phanerozoic.

Lack of theory

Many scientists, however, are skeptical about this theory. Why, then, they ask, did birds, crocodiles, turtles, snakes, and most mammals survive, as well as insects, molluscs, ocean fish, and many plants. This theory is also doubtful because the extinction of dinosaurs occurred very slowly - over millions of years, and not during one giant cataclysm.

Theory Advantage

The only advantage of the asteroid theory is that it can be tested. Scientists were looking for a suitable size crater. Looking at space photos of Mexico, they found a semi-circular chain of lakes. These lakes in the Yucatan Peninsula may fringe the edges of a giant crater buried under a kilometer and a half of rock. In 1992, scientists got their hands on rock samples from deep within the supposed crater while the Mexican National Oil Company was drilling at the site. By dating the samples, the scientists found that the crater is indeed about 65 million years old. At the same time, scientists examining leaf fossils from 65-million-year-old rock samples found that these leaves had been severely frost-damaged. The stage of leaf development showed that they froze in June. Fossil remains of leaves are additional confirmation that the remains of rocks and dust raised into the air as a result of big bang, could suddenly drop the air temperature. Scientists, however, argue that this event, even if it really took place, could be the reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Supernova explosion or nearby gamma-ray burst

In 1971, physicist Wallace Tucker and paleontologist Dale Russell suggested that a supernova explosion quite close to the solar system at the end of the Cretaceous could have catastrophic consequences for life on Earth. As a result of the explosion of such a supernova, the upper atmosphere of the planet was exposed to X-rays and other types of radiation, which caused rapid climate change, and the temperature on Earth began to drop rapidly, but no evidence of such an event was found.

Volcanic activity

Story

Increased volcanic activity, which is associated with a number of effects that could affect the biosphere: changes in the gas composition of the atmosphere; the greenhouse effect caused by the release of carbon dioxide during eruptions; change in the illumination of the Earth due to emissions of volcanic ash (volcanic winter). This hypothesis is supported by geological evidence of a giant outpouring of magma between 68 and 60 million years ago on the territory of Hindustan, as a result of which the Deccan traps were formed.

Research

New data obtained by a group of international researchers from Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and the University of Amravati (India) suggests that - yes, volcanoes could literally drive dinosaurs to the grave. Michael Eddy and his colleagues were able to more or less accurately determine the age of geological formations in the Deccan traps, one of the largest igneous formations on the planet, located on the Deccan plateau in western and central parts of India. (The term "trapp", which is used in geology to refer to this type of terrain, comes from the Swedish word trappa, a staircase.) Such geological zones can be used to determine the time and duration of large-scale volcanic "seasons" that occurred in the distant past.

Igneous rocks have been dated using zircon, a uranium-bearing mineral that forms in magma shortly after an eruption, so it can be used to determine the age of deposits quite accurately. Uranium isotopes serve as chemical "clocks". It was possible to find samples of zirconium corresponding to the beginning and end of the volcanic period. As the authors of the work write in Science Express, the eruptions began 250 thousand years before the fall of the alleged asteroid and continued for another 500 thousand years after, throwing out about 1.5 million square kilometers of lava.

Such prolonged volcanic activity could not but affect chemical composition atmosphere and the World Ocean: substances appeared in the air and water that spoiled the life of many organisms. One of the most abundant volcanic "gifts" could be carbon dioxide, which, once in the ocean, strongly acidified it, thereby killing some of the plankton. Which, of course, affected all food chains that began with marine plankton. Of course, no one says that external interference in the form of an asteroid did not affect the Earth's biosphere in any way. There was an asteroid, and it affected the biosphere, but the ecology was already largely shattered by internal causes, so the collision could only hasten what would have happened anyway.

Change in the force of gravity of the Earth

One of the most recent versions says that giant lizards have disappeared due to an increase in the Earth's gravity. The theory is based on the fact that the planets gradually increase in size. This means that their mass and attractive force also increase. Such a circumstance could well have affected the mobility of dinosaurs, as well as other creatures. To understand why this happens, we can recall an example of such a phenomenon as complete weightlessness in outer space on ships. That is, the lower the force of attraction, the easier it is to move. The weight of the dinosaurs was too great, and their body could really not be able to adapt to such changes. Every day it became harder and harder for them to move, which made it much more difficult to find food and their life processes in general.

Continental drift

Dinosaurs, according to scientists, lived in the Mesozoic era (248-65 million years ago). The Mesozoic, in turn, is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Initially, all the continents made up a single giant continent called Pangea. During the Jurassic period, Pangea gradually "broke" in half, and parts of the land began to move away from each other. By the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs, the continents had diverged even further. The contours of the continents began to resemble modern ones. Continental drift could cause the extinction of dinosaurs, because their habitats have changed dramatically, as well as climatic conditions. Vegetation has changed, it has become more difficult for herbivorous lizards to get food. As their numbers dwindled, hard times came for the carnivorous dinosaurs.

Epidemic

Based on the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin, bacteria and microbes appeared before all other forms of life on Earth. The processes of evolution did not bypass them, and these microorganisms mutated. Thanks to such statements, a new hypothesis was born about why the giant lizards died out. Any living organism adapts to changing environmental conditions, but not all inhabitants of the Earth can live with different bacteria on the principles of mutualism (“mutually beneficial cohabitation”). Therefore, the version that the dinosaurs were killed by an epidemic has the right to life. It is possible that most of the epidemics that at one time destroyed a huge number of people millions of years ago destroyed the dinosaurs. The proof of this theory can only be knowledge of certain properties of microorganisms. The fact is that bacteria survive under a variety of environmental conditions. In severe frosts, they do not die, but only fold into a cyst. This shell allows microbes to live for a huge number of years in the so-called sleep mode. As soon as the conditions again become suitable for the life of microorganisms, they “wake up” and begin to multiply.

Dinosaurs were exterminated by the first predatory mammals

The theory claims that mammals turned out to be more advanced in terms of survival, it is easier for them to get food and adapt to environment. The main advantage of mammals was the difference between their mode of reproduction and that of dinosaurs. The latter laid eggs, which it was not always possible to protect from the same small animals. In addition, a small dinosaur needed a huge amount of food to grow to the desired size, and food became increasingly difficult to obtain. Mammals were born in the womb, fed on mother's milk, and then did not need too much food. Especially under the nose were always dinosaur eggs, which could be imperceptibly credited.

From a paleontological point of view

The great extinction version is based on the following facts:

1. The emergence of flowering plants.
2. Gradual climate change caused by continental drift.

According to scientific world, the following pattern was observed. The developed root system of flowering plants, their better adaptability to soil quickly replaced other types of vegetation. Insects that fed on flowering plants began to appear, and insects that had previously appeared began to disappear.

The root system of flowering plants began to grow and prevent the process of soil erosion. The surface of the land ceased to erode, and nutrient material ceased to flow into the oceans. This led to the impoverishment of the ocean and the death of algae, which, in turn, are producers of biomass in the ocean. In the water there was a violation of the ecosystem, which caused a mass extinction. It is believed that flying lizards are closely related to the sea, so the chain of extinction has also spread to them. On land, they tried to adapt to the green mass. Small mammals and small predators began to appear. This was a threat to the offspring of dinosaurs, since the eggs and cubs of dinosaurs became food for the appeared predators. As a result, conditions were created that were negative for the emergence of new species.

When the dinosaurs died out, the Mesozoic era ended, and active tectonic, climatic and evolutionary activity also ended with it.

Combined theories

The above hypotheses can complement each other, which is used by some researchers to put forward various kinds of combined hypotheses. For example, the impact of a giant meteorite could provoke an increase in volcanic activity and the release of large mass dust and ash, which together could lead to climate change, and this, in turn, change the type of vegetation and food chains, etc.; climate change could also be caused by lowering sea levels. The Deccan volcanoes began to erupt even before the meteorite fell, but at some point, frequent and small eruptions (71 thousand cubic meters per year) were replaced by rare and large-scale ones (900 million cubic meters per year). Scientists admit that a change in the type of eruptions could occur under the influence of a meteorite that fell at the same time (with an error of 50 thousand years).

It is known that in some reptiles, the phenomenon of dependence of the sex of the offspring on the temperature of egg laying is observed. In 2004, a group of researchers from the British University of Leeds, led by David Miller, suggested that if a similar phenomenon was also characteristic of dinosaurs, then climate change of just a few degrees could provoke the birth of individuals of only a certain sex (male, for example), and this, in turn, makes further reproduction impossible.

Disadvantages of hypotheses

None of these hypotheses can fully explain the entire complex of phenomena associated with the extinction of dinosaurs and other species at the end of the Cretaceous.

The main problems of the listed versions are as follows:

• Hypotheses focus specifically on extinction, which, according to some researchers, proceeded at the same pace as in the previous time (but at the same time, new species ceased to form as part of extinct groups).
• All impact hypotheses (impact hypotheses), including astronomical ones, do not correspond to the estimated duration of its period (many groups of animals began to die out long before the end of the Cretaceous). The transition of the same ammonites to heteromorphic forms also indicates some kind of instability. It may very well be that many species have already been undermined by some long-term processes and stood in the way of extinction, and the catastrophe simply accelerated the process.
• On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that the duration of the extinction period cannot be accurately estimated due to the Signor-Lipps effect associated with the incompleteness of paleontological data (the time of the burial of the last fossil found may not correspond to the time of the extinction of the taxon).
• Some of the hypotheses have insufficient factual evidence. So, no traces were found that the inversion magnetic field Lands affect the biosphere; there is no conclusive evidence that a regression in global sea levels could have caused a mass extinction of this magnitude; there is no evidence of sharp jumps in ocean temperature during this period; nor is it proven that the catastrophic volcanism that formed the Deccan traps was ubiquitous, or that its intensity was sufficient to cause global climate and biospheric changes.

Conclusion

Answer the question: "Why did the dinosaurs become extinct?" Today it is not possible with certainty. All versions, for lack of solid evidence, exist only at the level of assumptions. It is worth noting that dinosaurs, probably for the first time in millions of years, were under the influence of several of these factors, as a result of which they gave way to mammals.

Video

Sources

http://www.voprosy-kak-i-pochemu.ru/pochemu-vymerli-dinozavry/ http://www.crimea.kp.ru/daily/26123.4/3015794/

It has long been known that dinosaurs died out at the end of the Cretaceous period from the fall of an asteroid to Earth. There is such a version. However, there is little evidence. Scientists are still discussing the causes of the extinction of pangolins and building new hypotheses.

Asteroid

This is one of the most popular scientific theories. It was put forward by the American physicist Luis Alvarez in 1980. It is believed that a huge asteroid hit the Earth 66 million years ago. The impact site is the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The celestial body raised clouds of dust into the atmosphere, awakened dormant volcanoes, which caused an astroid winter and led to the extinction of dinosaurs and some other animals. Opponents of the theory believe that the crater is too small, there are craters on Earth from more impressive celestial bodies(for example Chesapeake or Popigay), besides, at the time when they fell, there were no serious changes in the fauna on Earth. Proponents of the theory retort this by saying that the reptiles became extinct as a result of the falls of several asteroids at once. After all, the death of dinosaurs occurred rather slowly, over hundreds of thousands of years. 2 Active volcanism Another hypothesis for the extinction of dinosaurs is a significant increase in the Earth's volcanic activity. Most often, scientists refer to the Deccan Traps plateau, which is located in India and is covered with igneous basalt two kilometers thick. Its age is determined at 60 - 68 million years. Supporters of the theory of volcanism believe that volcanic activity went on for so long that the climate on Earth became colder and the dinosaurs froze. Opponents of the theory assure opponents that with a prolonged eruption, dinosaurs could adapt to the cold, as crocodiles did, and survive. 3 Climate change Under this hypothesis, it is believed that dinosaurs died due to changes in the Earth's climate caused by continental drift. The drift caused temperature fluctuations, mass death of plants, a change in the food supply of lizards, and the drying up of water bodies. There is also an assumption that due to temperature changes in dinosaurs, only females or only males began to hatch from eggs. This happened in exactly the same way as in modern crocodiles. And this led to the death of the species. There is a theory that during a cold snap, the shells of dinosaur eggs became thicker or thinner than they needed. In the first case, the formed cub could not leave the shell and died, and in the second case, it became a victim of predators or infection. This theory is opposed by the studies of climatologists, who have already found out that there were no special climate changes 66.5 million years ago on Earth. The next serious cooling began at the end of the Eocene, that is, only 58 million years ago. 4 Atmospheric change This theory is related to the fact that as a result of cataclysms, the Earth's atmosphere changed its composition so much that the huge lizards had nothing to breathe, and they died. Scholars cite various reasons for this turn of events. Some still claim that asteroids are to blame, others point to volcanoes. The fact is that during the heyday of the dinosaurs, the oxygen content in the atmosphere was 10-15%, and the carbon dioxide content was only a few percent. The change in the composition of the air led to a change in plants, and made it possible for the development of a new fauna.

Opponents of this hypothesis studied the composition of the air in the ancient atmosphere of the Earth by rocks and sediments and came to the conclusion that the composition of the air in the Cretaceous period did not change significantly. At the end of the Cretaceous, the carbon dioxide content was about the same as it was 100 million years earlier, in the middle of the Jurassic.

And lots of small algae. In total, 16% of families of marine animals (47% of genera of marine animals) and 18% of families of terrestrial vertebrates perished.

Presumably some dinosaurs (triceratops, theropods, etc.) existed in the west North America and in India for a few more million years at the beginning of the Paleogene, after their extinction elsewhere.

The most famous versions of the extinction of dinosaurs

Astrophysical

Geophysical and climatic

Evolutionary biological

1. Dinosaurs could not adapt to the change in the type of vegetation and became poisoned by the alkaloids contained in the emerging flowering plants.
2. Dinosaurs were exterminated by the first predatory mammals, destroying the clutches of eggs and cubs.

Disadvantages of hypotheses

Speaking about the reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs themselves, it is necessary to note some important features this extinction:

• The extinction can only be called “rapid” by geological standards, while most paleontologists believe that in reality it took at least several hundred thousand years.
• In general, talking about the "rapid extinction of dinosaurs" is not entirely correct. In any group of living beings, the formation of new species and the extinction of previously existing ones are constantly going on. These processes go on simultaneously, and if the rates of extinction and the formation of new species are equal, the group exists. From this point of view, during the period of the "great extinction", the rate of extinction dinosaurs (precisely dinosaurs, with marine reptiles the picture looks different), that is, the extinction of pre-existing species does not exceed the rate of extinction in previous periods. But the extinct species of dinosaurs were not replaced by new ones, as a result of which the group, in the end, completely died out.

In fairness, it should be noted, however, that this point of view is not shared by all experts.

As a result, the main problems of the listed versions are as follows:

• The hypotheses focus on extinction, which, according to some researchers, went at the same pace as in the previous time.
• Some of the hypotheses have insufficient factual evidence. Thus, no traces have been found that the reversals of the Earth's magnetic field affect the biosphere; there is no conclusive evidence that the Maastrichtian regression of world sea levels could have caused a mass extinction of this magnitude; there is no evidence of sharp jumps in ocean temperature during this period; nor is it proven that the catastrophic volcanism that produced the Deccan traps was widespread, or that its intensity was sufficient to cause global climate and biospheric changes.
• All impact hypotheses (impact hypotheses), including astronomical ones, do not explain the selectivity of extinction (why certain organisms survived when others died) and do not correspond to the estimated duration of its period (many groups of animals began to die out long before the end of the Cretaceous). The transition of the same ammonites to heteromorphic forms also indicates some kind of instability. It may very well be that many species have already been undermined by some long-term processes and stood in the way of extinction, and the catastrophe simply accelerated the process.

On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that the duration of the extinction period cannot be accurately estimated due to the Signor-Lipps effect associated with the incompleteness of paleontological data (the time of the burial of the last fossil found may not correspond to the time of the extinction of the taxon).

"Biospheric" version

A biospheric version of the "great extinction" is popular in Russian paleontology, including the extinction of the dinosaurs. According to her, the main initial factors that predetermined the extinction of dinosaurs were:

1. The emergence of flowering plants;
2. Gradual climate change caused by continental drift.

The sequence of events that led to extinction is presented as follows:

• Flowering plants with a more developed root system and better use of soil fertility, rather quickly replaced other types of vegetation everywhere. At the same time, insects specialized in feeding on flowering plants appeared, and insects “tied” to pre-existing types of vegetation began to die out.
• Flowering plants form sod, which is the best of natural erosion suppressors. As a result of their spread, the erosion of the land surface and, accordingly, the flow of nutrients into the oceans has decreased. "Impoverishment" of the ocean with food led to the death of a significant part of algae, which were the main primary producer of biomass in the ocean. Along the chain, this led to the complete disruption of the entire marine ecosystem and caused mass extinctions in the sea. The same extinction also affected the large flying lizards, which, according to existing ideas, were trophically associated with the sea. Some of the large marine reptiles, in addition, could not withstand competition with the sharks of the modern type that appeared at that particular time.
• On land, animals actively adapted to feeding on green mass (by the way, herbivorous dinosaurs too). Small phytophagous mammals (like rats) appeared in the small size class. Their appearance led to the appearance of the corresponding predators, which also became mammals. Small-sized mammalian predators were not dangerous for adult dinosaurs, but fed on their eggs and cubs, creating additional difficulties for dinosaurs in reproduction. At the same time, the protection of offspring for a dinosaur is practically impossible due to the too large difference in the size of adults and cubs.
• As a result of the drift of the continents at the end of the Cretaceous, the system of air and sea currents changed, which led to some cooling on a significant part of the land and an increase in the seasonal temperature gradient. Inertial homoiothermy, which provided dinosaurs with an evolutionary advantage in previous periods, no longer had an effect under such conditions.

As a result of all these reasons, unfavorable conditions were created for dinosaurs, which led to the cessation of the emergence of new species. The "old" species of dinosaurs existed for some time, but gradually died out completely. Apparently, there was no fierce direct competition between dinosaurs and mammals; they occupied different size classes, existing in parallel. Only after the extinction of the dinosaurs did mammals capture the vacated ecological niche, and even then not immediately.

Curiously, the development of the first archosaurs in the Triassic period was accompanied by the gradual extinction of many therapsids, the highest forms of which were essentially primitive egg-laying mammals.

Disadvantages of the biospheric version

In the above form, the version uses hypothetical ideas about the physiology and behavior of dinosaurs, does not compare all the changes in climate and currents that took place in the Mesozoic to those that took place at the end of the Cretaceous, does not explain the simultaneous extinction of dinosaurs on continents isolated from each other, does not explain the selectivity of the claimed effects of mammalian evolution on other vertebrates.

Sources and notes

Links

• The impact theory of mass extinction The Impact Theory of Mass Extinction )
• Reflections on the "rare event" and related representations in geology

evolutionary biology
Mechanisms and processes

This question has worried scientists for one and a half hundred years, representing one of the greatest mysteries of our planet: why did dinosaurs die out? The mystery of death is also of interest to several generations of observers far from science. At the moment, a whole pantheon of hypotheses has been erected, which in fact are nothing more than myths. Because they don't stand up to scrutiny. Our job is to push the mythology aside and provide readers with the most realistic reason.

Five great extinctions

Before turning directly to the events of the end of the Mesozoic, let's look at time on a different scale. In the history of the Earth, at least 5 time points are distinguished, where significant extinctions of species of living beings occurred. These are the so-called "great extinctions": Ordovician-Silurian, Devonian, Permian-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic and Cretaceous-Paleogene (considered). Let's leave the first two for now (due to the lack of sufficiently highly developed organisms, as well as remoteness) and briefly compare the last three.

The Permian-Triassic (the end of the Paleozoic era, about 251 million years ago) is considered the largest, because up to 96% of all species disappeared during it. At the same time, reptiles, already coming to the fore then, successfully survive and evolve.

The Triassic-Jurassic extinction (about 199.6 million years ago) was not as large-scale, but claimed up to 75% of the species. Reptiles easily survive it and continue to develop, including already existing dinosaurs. Moreover, the latter in the Jurassic period become the dominant form of life.

Finally, in the Cretaceous-Paleogene (the end of the Mesozoic era, about 66 million years ago), about 75% of all species disappear. A significant part of land animals, the most developed animals that reigned supreme at that time (primarily dinosaurs and sea lizards) do not survive!

All three extinctions have major differences, but the Cretaceous stands out in an unprecedented way thanks to the last fact. None of the various types of dinosaurs that inhabit almost all the land zones of the planet have adapted to the changed conditions. Didn't evolve. Complete disappearance. How could this happen?

High adaptability of dinosaurs

A separate publication will be devoted to this in detail, but here we will outline the general conclusions. There are a number of criteria by which they can be made.

Dinosaurs have dominated land since the Jurassic. They are not only fixed at the top of food chains, but also occupy vast areas of the continents. Dinosaurs are settling all over the globe, showing phenomenal abilities of migration and adaptability to radically new environmental conditions.

The ability of the evolutionary transformation of the body is truly amazing. Even the differences between genera that are relatively close (for example, Psittacosaurus and Triceratops) testify to this. Not to mention sub-orders. Neither mammals nor birds have even come close to undergoing such metamorphoses in many millions of years. The same applies to the variability in the size of "terrible lizards".

The niche of unsuccessful species is quickly occupied by more successful ones. All this testifies to the highest adaptability among the most developed creatures of the end of the Mesozoic. It was they who had the greatest chance of surviving as a result of a serious catastrophe. They spread, change and consolidate.

Highly evolved lizards are the central victim of events

The image shows the state of the continents of our planet at the time of the disappearance of the dinosaurs. The model was built by American geologist Christopher Scotese.

How were the different organisms affected? Part of the plants disappears, but this does not affect the general trend of their development. Angiosperms continue to take root on land. Impressive damage to insects was also not inflicted. A number of mollusks are dying out, including ammonite cephalopods and belemnites, but fish are only slightly affected. Amphibians for the most part safely continue to occupy their ecological niches. Among the birds, the most progressive survive, having already occupied the air at the end of the Cretaceous. Mammals have not been significantly affected and have been developing rapidly since the beginning of the Cenozoic, occupying the niche of dinosaurs.

Now let's turn to reptiles: dinosaurs, sauropterygians and mosasaurs - dominant in the seas - are dying out, as well as pterosaurs. However, lizards and other lepidosaurs do survive. Along with crocodiles and turtles.

According to the results of the calculations, a lot of questions arise: why, with the exception of the class of reptiles, do all the most developed animals that came or come to the fore in the Mesozoic experience a "cataclysm"? Why do dinosaurs and sauropterygii die out, but crocodiles, turtles and lepidosaurs survive? How are egg-laying birds, descended from terrible lizards, saved? None of them can be explained by a catastrophe on a planetary scale. However, we will still consider the put forward causes of extinction.

The fall of one or more asteroids - a legend

At the moment, one of the most popular hypotheses in the scientific community. The special brilliance not least contributes to its spread among the masses. It is assumed that 66 million years ago, an asteroid invaded the Earth from outer space. As it hit the surface, it caused dust particles to pollute the atmosphere, crustal activity, and possibly major volcanic eruptions. The rising particles so densely saturated the atmosphere that they hid the Sun for a long period. The combination of all factors gave rise to a sharp climate change. Presumably, this led to the complete extinction of dinosaurs and a number of other organisms described above.

The formalized idea was first expressed by the American physicist Luis Alvarez in 1980. As a place to fall last years the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) is actively moving forward. Under the influence of criticism, recognizing the unconvincing theory, supporters also proposed a version of multiple fall: several asteroids in different parts of the planet with a small time interval.

We will not list all the shortcomings of the hypothesis (starting with the ongoing debate about the correspondence between the time of the fall and the onset of extinction), because even the key ones will suffice. Let's say the fall actually happened.

Parametric refutation

First, let's pay attention to the sizes of objects: on the general map, the red arrow points to the circumference of the Chicxulub crater (click to enlarge).

As you can see, on the scale of the panet, it is an extremely small formation: the area of ​​​​the Chicxulub crater is about 25,500 square kilometers, and the area of ​​​​the Earth is about 51,0072,000 square kilometers. For comparison, the area of ​​the island of Madagascar alone is as much as 587,040 square kilometers.

What size then was the asteroid itself? In order to see it on the upper border of the Yucatan Peninsula, you need to use multiple magnification.

Yes, this point in the center of the crater circle is our hyped "giant". The diameter of the Chicxulub meteorite is only about 10 km, and the diameter of the Earth is 12,742 kilometers. Thus, the diameter of our planet is 1272 times the diameter of this very asteroid! And the mass, respectively, by many orders of magnitude. What happens if a microscopic grain of sand falls on a person?

The consequences of the fall of such a small cosmic body will not affect the planet in any way. At most, this can cause pollution in a small radius or a tsunami that can flood a small island. The same for several asteroids, even if they fell in different parts the globe. No noticeable effect.

Experimental rebuttal

However, we will not stop there and will refute the theory in a completely different way. Have similar bodies fallen in the history of our planet? Yes, repeatedly. One of the last occurred about 35 million years ago: at least three large meteorites fell simultaneously or with a short time interval.

The first of them fell in Siberia and formed the famous Popigay crater, whose diameter is about 100 kilometers. The diameter of the asteroid itself is up to 8 km. These numbers are comparable to Chicxulub's estimates. The crater is shown in the photo below.

At the same time or at short intervals in eastern North America, a second falls and forms the Chesapeake Crater. Its diameter is from 40 to 80 km. It is mostly under water, so here is a three-dimensional reconstruction.

Finally, the third fell in the Toms Canyon, not far from the current city of Atlantic City (New Jersey, USA). The diameter of its crater is about 20 km.

What is the result? No global reactions at this time point. Despite such a massive bombardment (there are signs that there were much more than three meteorites), no cataclysms and mass extinctions occurred 35 million years ago. Which re-posts the asteroid version.

In general, it is worth noting that, with the exception of Chicxulub, none of the craters with a diameter of more than 40 km was formed in close proximity to the marks of the great extinctions. Meteors of small size-masses (relative to the planet) fell, fall and will fall without causing significant damage. Collisions with a really giant asteroid, which could lead to a shift in the orbit and incredible fractures of the crust, did not occur at the end of the Cretaceous. And, even if that were to happen, the cataclysm would completely wipe out most life forms (if not all of them, including the atmosphere). Let's go further.

Active volcanism is a myth

The essence of the theory is an increase in volcanic activity at the sunset of the Cretaceous at certain points on the planet. The so-called Deccan traps (India) appear especially often in the literature: a plateau covered with basalt covers up to 2000 meters thick, which were formed from 60 to 68 million years ago as a result of a series of prolonged eruptions. Presumably, a significant release of gases and ash affected the atmosphere. Climatic conditions have changed in the direction of cooling.

This hypothesis as the cause of the extinction of highly developed reptiles is swept aside even faster. First, the described process would have been protracted, which would have allowed dinosaurs to easily adapt to changing conditions, as crocodiles or lizards did. Secondly, one or more small volcanic zones could not significantly affect the atmosphere of the whole planet (returning to asteroids). In order to refute this theory from a completely different angle, let's turn to the weather.

Cold snap and other climate changes - a statue without a pedestal

Global climate changes could only be the consequences of other influences, the presence of which is refuted in this work.

However, we, of course, will not stop at this and will present separately data from climate studies at the extinction point. First, let's turn to atmospheric temperature, which, as stated, would certainly be affected by a global catastrophe with an abundance of emissions and other derivatives.

Based on careful analysis, the plot by Christopher Scotese and colleagues shows that there were no climate jumps at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (indicated as K/T in the figure, click to enlarge). Not even small changes. This further illustrates the fact that no long-term impacts like superglobal volcanism have taken place. Serious cooling began many millions of years later, at the end of the Eocene. Note also that the boundary of the Jurassic and Cretaceous is marked by a 10 degree cooling, which the dinosaurs easily survived.

Now let's turn to an alternative compilation by another scientist, Nasif Nakhle. In addition to the confirmed temperature estimates, this shows a plot of atmospheric carbon dioxide (purple). It is traditionally a sign of active volcanism, and also reflects other complex processes on the Earth's surface.


As we can see, no sharp jumps or transitions are observed at the time of the Cretaceous-Paleogene event. Approximately from the beginning of the Cretaceous period, carbon dioxide concentrations gradually decreased and did not have a significant effect on animals. In addition, this disproves the existence of factors directly related to this gas. By the end of the Cretaceous, the concentration approximately corresponded to those in the middle Jurassic.

Lack of food or mass poisoning is an illusion

There are unfounded speculations that herbivorous dinosaurs could not have enough food at the end of the Cretaceous, which led to their death. Predatory dinosaurs lose prey and die after. A more elegant version speaks of the poisoning of herbivorous dinosaurs by flowering representatives of the flora, many of which contained alkaloids. In assumptions, these substances were poisonous to ancient reptiles. Accordingly, predators suffer the same fate.

In fact, dinosaurs had an incredibly varied diet. There was no rigid food chain "dinosaur-dinosaur": for example, small theropods hunted mammals, lizards and insects, and ornithopods feasted on needles, roots and mushrooms. Thus, the lack of food for some did not affect others. Considering, moreover, the territorial distribution.

As for alkaloids, dinosaurs have consumed flowering plants with appetite for many millions of years, and this only had a positive effect on digestion.

Viral or bacterial epidemic - fiction

As mentioned above, dinosaurs and other highly developed reptiles were so diverse that they could not be infected with one type of virus or bacterium. In addition, due to the zonality of any epidemic of non-rational animals, the natural transfer and spread of the disease throughout the planet was impossible.

Supernova explosion - a fairy tale

It is based on the explosion of a supernova at a relatively small distance from solar system. The ejection of particles could reach the Earth and hit the inhabiting creatures. However, there is no evidence that the planet was exposed to massive radiation during that time period. But even if this happened, it would affect all animals without exception. Moreover, genetically crocodiles or birds are located not far from dinosaurs.

Mammals or other factors have caused irreparable damage to egg clutches - a fable

The version has nothing to do with reality, because the lizards were very diverse. The laying of eggs, depending on the species, was located in special places: from shallow depressions to transcendental rocks.

At the same time, most dinosaurs were very prolific. The loss of part of the eggs was provided by nature and did not affect the population. The eggs of some dinosaurs have been eaten by other genera since their inception, and this did not affect the overall development.

We add that lizards, crocodiles, turtles also lay eggs, but they survive safely. And some of the extinct animal species did not lay them at all. The combination of these factors does not give any grounds for this assertion.

Falling sea levels are a fantasy

If marine animals could suffer in any way as a result, then the disappearance of land reptiles throughout the globe cannot be explained.

Now let's move on to a more original version.

The coincidence of several natural factors - the sum of zeros

Some scientists suggest that several of the events listed above took place at once. Their combination led to such catastrophic consequences. One of the main proponents of this trend for many years has been Professor Herta Keller of Princeton University. She believes that at the very height of the Indian volcanic eruptions (Decan traps) there was a fall of at least two large meteorites.

In her model, the first, previously mentioned Chicxulub, fell 300,000 years before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and could not be the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. At the extinction point, a collision occurred with a second asteroid, approximately 2 times larger. According to her calculations, he should have left a crater 250-300 km in diameter. It was this object that led to a large-scale anomaly of rare earth metals (it will be discussed in detail later). At the same time, several more much smaller meteorites could fall.

By coincidence, this coincided with the most intense phase of the Indian eruptions, and in total led to a sharp jump in climate. The combination of these factors was the cause of such mass extinctions. Moreover, it is important to note that Gert Keller ascribes the leading role to the "Deccan volcanic surge."

We now proceed to refute this hypothesis. As we have shown earlier, all the impacts cited by Keller either did not take place at all, or did not go beyond the usual limits, or were exclusively local in nature. The sum of insignificant events in separate points of the planet could not lead to a catastrophe on a planetary scale, even with an incredible coincidence in time.

Separately, let us say a few words about the asteroid component. We agree that the Chicxulub crater most likely formed before the extinction and could not but be its cause. At the same time, the second asteroid proposed by Hertha Keller did not exist at all. To date, there are no suitable craters with a diameter of more than 250 km at this time point. As an interesting addition, we offer one of Herta Keller's compilations (click to enlarge).

On the right is a geochronological scale with the percentage of extinct organisms. Known craters sorted by diameter are placed in the center. Black indicates the proposed Keller crater. On the left side are periods of increased volcanic activity.

Although this is only current data, it can already be noted that there is no direct connection between volcanism, asteroids and mass extinctions.

Paleocene dinosaurs or survivors of the cataclysm - wishful thinking

Until now, there are suggestions that some dinosaurs and other extinct animals could actually safely survive the events at the border of the Cretaceous and Paleogene. According to this version, their extinction occurred tens or even hundreds of thousands of years later, already in the deep early Cenozoic.

One of its main defenders is the American geologist James Fasset. He devoted much of his time to the study of North American geological formations. As current evidence, Fasset cites a number of fossils of duck-billed dinosaurs that were found in the lower Paleocene layers of the Ojo Alamo Formation (New Mexico, USA). Most of them are single bones.

Similar finds have also been made by other paleontologists in the Hell Creek Formation (USA). According to the authors, they were located in rocks formed 40,000 years later than the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary.

The main argument of James Fasset is a set of 34 bones from the same Ocho Alamo, which by all indications belong to an individual hadrosaurid. According to him, they were found in rocks formed several hundred thousand years later than the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. We offer a photograph of these fossils from the excavation site. Below, the discovered parts of the skeleton are highlighted in black.

In fact, no Paleocene dinosaurs existed. No species survived the Cretaceous-Paleocene event. Finding objects in overlying rocks is quite common for our living planet. Both the single fossils and this small set of hadrosaurids have ended up in higher layers as a result of erosion and other destructive geological processes. Among these may be rivers, winds, earthquakes, landslides and a huge number of others. natural factors.

For example, a stormy river could tear off a piece of rock from the shore and nail its contents in another place, not necessarily remote. Thus, the fossil ends up in a different geological niche, where, after millions of years, it is extracted by paleontologists. This can be called natural reburial of fossils.

A group of scientists who examined this formation in detail in their work fully agree with this argument. "No definitive evidence of paleocene dinosaurs in the San Juan Basin". In general, the Ojo Alamo is a mixture of many rocks, which may be the result of local cataclysms. It is by no means a sufficient basis for research.

In addition, in relation to it, Fasset has an incorrect dating (Naashoibito block), which is also mentioned in the publication: those rocks that are shown as Paleocene actually belong to the late Maastrichtian.

To prove the existence of surviving dinosaurs, it is necessary to show large burials with almost complete skeletons in various formations around the world. Nothing like this happened.

The answer is the theory of controlled evolution

So, the variants of natural disasters do not stand up to scrutiny. What are the true reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs?

After studying the issue for a long time, we offer a version that fully explains the death of dinosaurs: our planet has been an experimental site for a different mind for a long time. 66 million years ago, as part of a long evolutionary experiment, dinosaurs and other highly developed pangolins were destroyed.

We have called the source of influence the directing mind (NR). It is likely that all or part of the other great extinctions were also initiated by the latter.

Purpose of the experiment

It consists of two parts. First, HP has been studying evolutionary processes for a long time as part of scientific research. The research results then receive practical application already outside our planet.

In parallel, the "earth experiment" is a game and at the same time a film that can be seen for an unusually long time. If people play computer strategies, then HP manipulates living beings. If humanity is watching movies, on the plot of which it cannot influence, then HP has full interactivity.

Interference with natural processes occurs periodically when a course correction is required. Periods of non-intervention can last tens of millions of years, as long as everything goes according to the established plan.

Why dinosaurs?

Everything is very simple. Within the framework of the experiment, highly developed lizards were no longer necessary, while they did not give significant maneuver to other species. There were no natural evolutionary turns. They dominated on land and in water, not giving the opportunity to turn around. Without extermination, they would have continued to dominate for many epochs after.

In addition to a number of indirect ones, the main task was to free up the niche of dinosaurs for mammals, which at that moment were of the greatest interest to HP. This class of creatures led a secret existence under the heel of lizards for many millions of years. It was necessary to release the sea-land in the first place for the push of mammals.

But what about belemnites?

Why did a number of other organisms disappear, you ask? The answer is also simple: dinosaurs were the primary, but by no means the only target. A whole list of animals was completely destroyed.

In particular, the so-called lagging behind or dead-end species, according to HP, die in order to free up more space and food for the advanced ones. For example, hesperornithids and similar toothed birds are being destroyed. They got along well with the ancestors of modern birds and could have survived for millions of years. The absence of ammonites and belemnites gives more space to those who remain in the seas.

As a result of the operation, a sudden disruption of food chains could lead to additional extinction of some of the unaffected genera, but on a much smaller scale. Within the allowable plan.

The essence of HP and the method of destruction

The incredibly low moral level is striking: for the sake of mercantile goals, huge populations are swept away. They are nothing more than inanimate objects in the hands of the manipulator. Complete disregard for the life of living beings, reflecting composure and particular ruthlessness.

Despite the significant difference with us in the period of existence and accumulated knowledge, HP is by no means omnipotent. The mechanism of evolution is not subject to him, otherwise the very fact of control would not be required. He directs, but cannot predict details and look far ahead.

The operation was carried out in a very short time period. Most likely, from one to several days. First, the long stay of the equipment on the planet and its repeated use could lead to undesirable consequences for many species that are not included in the black list. Undesirable random factor. Secondly, the animal distribution scheme was drawn up and delays could lead to migrations or even intraspecific changes. And these are unnecessary actions and avoiding the plan, which is not typical for HP.

Since the level of technology is many orders of magnitude superior to the human, we can only guess about the details. And ways to destroy dinosaurs.

Iridium - the key to information?

However, of particular interest are the layers of iridium, which are found literally all over the world. High concentrations just fall at the end of the Mesozoic era.

The metal is incredibly rare in natural deposits, suggesting an extraterrestrial origin. It is very likely that these are the results of the release of HP devices or a side element of the tools used during the operation. Confirmation of the theory of controlled evolution. The photo below shows an inch layer of iridium 16 km from the town of Trinidad (US state of Colorado).

In the next photo, a section of rock from the San Diego Museum of Natural History (USA), a visually noticeable line of which contains an iridium concentration ten times higher than the norm. It was found in Wyoming.

What are the properties of the phenomenon that affected our planet on the border of the Cretaceous? Maps of iridium anomalies will be very revealing. We bring to your attention an illustration from scientific work Phillip Kleiss, Wolfgang Kiessling and Walter Alvarez (2002).

Here: double white circle - the vicinity of Chicxulub; white circles - the anomaly is present, but the concentrations are unknown; the rest are areas with an iridium anomaly. The size of these reflects the concentration (1 ppb is 0.0000001% of the material).

In total, this is about 30% of potential zones, but already here it is clear that the points are distributed throughout the planet. About 55% are still in the process of being studied. This is without taking into account the fact that periodically there are new ones.

Currently largest number points located in the North American and Eurasian territories. This is primarily due to the fact that the main paleontological and geological studies are carried out mainly in technically equipped countries with a traditionally strong scientific base. Or next to them. Accordingly, work in the oceans is carried out very rarely. The second reason is the level of accessibility of the Late Maastrichtian layers.

Another hit on asteroids

It has been noted that the alleged foreign origin of iridium microparticles is one of the arguments of the supporters of the asteroid version. In fact, the current base proves the opposite. Points of various concentrations are scattered throughout the map, and have no direct connection with the alleged epicenter - Chicxulub.

Attempts to explain the spread of the anomaly by incredible sea currents dragging dust masses through the entire Earth, or by phenomenal air currents, run into real facts: many thousands of kilometers from Chicxulub, concentrations comparable to those nearby are found. At the same time, about 15% of the studied points on the M / P boundary do not contain signs of an anomaly at all (only two times less than those containing them). No even distribution. Moreover, some of the latter are in a small distance from those where signs are present.

Apparently, there was not a complete coverage of the planet, but a certain zonality. We have an assumption that it may well be associated with the habitat of the exterminated HP species.

There is also no evidence of a massive fall of asteroids: in particular, there are no craters similar to Chicxulub in the well-studied European zone, where considerable clusters are seen. This is how the complete map from the same work looks like.

Black triangles are places of potential anomalies, circles are places with fixed signs, squares are places without fixed signs.

Another blow to volcanism

The concentrations of iridium at the M/I boundary are significantly higher than the statistical average. Although there have been plenty of time periods with active volcanism in the history of the planet, analogues of such a global anomaly outside the points of great extinctions have not been recorded. In particular, neither in the Jura-Cretaceous period, nor in the subsequent 66 million years after the extinction. This again refutes the theory of catastrophic volcanism at the end of the Mesozoic.

Thus, 66 million years ago, some areas of the planet were strewn with microparticles, some were free. There is practically no doubt that this picture is associated with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction. The only question is whether this is a direct component of the HP tool or only a consequence of its use.

Hopefully, further excavations and fossil studies will provide more detailed information.

Three milestones

In addition to the extinction of the dinosaurs, there are two more greatest mysteries in the history of the Earth - the origin of life and the emergence of intelligence. Not explained by known hypotheses, they fit perfectly into the theory of controlled evolution, creating a complete picture of the manipulation of life over hundreds of millions of years. But about them in detail in the following publications.