How did the dinosaurs become extinct? This is a question that has stumped scientists ever since dinosaur fossils were first discovered. There are many theories as to how the dinosaurs became extinct. This page presents some of the most popular thoeries. Keep in mind that there is no absolutely proven theory. Noone knows for certain exactly why and how the dinosaurs became extinct.
Probably the most popular theory right now is the Asteroid Theory. According to this theory a large asteroid or comet collided with Earth about 65 million years ago. Scientists think that such a large collision would throw so much dust into the air that sunlight would not be able to shine and plants and animals would die. The dramatic changes in climate that resulted from this huge collision were too much for the dinosaurs. They were not able to survive.
Another theory that could explain how the dinosaurs became extinct is volcanic activity. A huge increase in volcanic activity at around 65 millions years ago could have pumped so much ash into the air that it blocked out the sun killing the dinosaurs.
Some scientists believe that there was a severe ice age. Throughout Earth's history there have been many ice ages. The last one ended about 10,000 years ago. A very severe ice age could have changed temperatures and frozen a lot of Earth's water. The dinosaurs would not be able live under such conditions and that is how the dinosaurs became extinct.
It has also been suggested that desease killed off the dinosaurs. A very deadly and contagious desease may have circulated among the dinosaurs forcing them to become extinct.
Still yet another theory is that the Earth just gradually changed in climate over a long time period and the dinosaurs were not able to adapt to the cooler, dryer climate.
There are probably other theories as to how the dinosaurs became extinct. One thing is for certain. All dinosaurs that we know of are extinct. How did all the dinosaurs become extinct? Maybe one of these theories is the right answer. However, it is difficult to explain why all the dinosaurs died out but many other animals survived. Perhaps one day we will know for certain how the dinosaurs became extinct. Until then we must speculate and continue the search for the answer to this great mystery of nature.
2006-07-12 01:36:30
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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While there is quite a bit of evidence that a massive collision with an extra-terrestrial object was involved in the extinction of the entire dinosaur lineage (except birds) at the end of the Cretaceous, it is worth noting that there were many dinosaur species that went extinct before that time.
Familiar groups like the stegosaurs had petered out and gone extinct long before the end of the Cretaceous, and the gigantic sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus had their hey-day back in the Jurrasic. There were very few species of the big brontosaur-types left by the time that impact occurred.
There are many different reasons why species go extinct. It is a natural process of evolution and has been going on since the beginning of life. Each species that has gone extinct has its own story, and its own cause of extinction. It's just that a great many species during 'extinction events' like the end of the Cretaceous all share a very similar reason for extinction.
2006-07-12 05:32:13
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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This is a very good question. It is believed that a bolide impact wiped outt he dinoasaurs during the Cretaceous era (65 Million years ago). The asteroid hit the Yucatan penninsula just off the coast of Mexico. The asteroid hit the planet with such force that it created what is known as a nuclear winter. This is the result of dust being blown into the atmosphere and blocking out the sun. Without plants being able to photosynthesize, many plants dissappeared, and with them went most of the life on earth. The impact in Mexico was so powerful, it was believed to have created volcanoes in India, to erupt. This means that the shock wave was felt right across the planet. The volcanoes that errupted are known as the Deccan traps, it is believed that the amount of ash produced by these volcanoes would have prolonged the nuclean winter for many many years.
This evidence was collected by using sediment cores. When looking at these cores, in the fossil record, it was obvious that there was one large abrupt extinction. They called it the K-T mass extinction (Cretaceous-Tertiary). If you look at the fossils from that time, in the deeper sedimants, there is nothing but dinosaurs, then higher up there are mammals starting to appear. This was evidence that something wiped out the dinosaurs all at once, and then once the world re-couperated, the tiny mammals started filling in the niches left by the dinosaurs. Good Question! hope that answered it!
2006-07-12 03:54:04
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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We actually have facts saying that some dinosaurs are not extinct. The facts come from Africans and other people that live out in deeper parts of the jungles. But dinosaurs may have died because of climate change after the Great flood.
2006-07-14 11:51:11
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answer #4
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answered by David B 1
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The most famous and agreed theory that scientists have come up with is that a large meteorite "crashed" on Earth thus creating a duststorm, shielding the sun. The dust was said only to settle after the dinosaurs were extinct. Another theory was that the reproduction rate of the dinosaurs was low so they perished.
2006-07-12 01:54:03
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answer #5
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answered by Strike Freedom Gundam_Kira 1
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if im helping you with homework, im no longer proud. DINOSAUR EXTINCTION Why did dinosaurs change into extinct? there have been many suggestions to describe why dinosaurs grew to change into extinct. a minimum of fifty 5 distinct theories were stated and then thrown out because of issues. for instance, a concept that works for the large animals commonly does no longer clarify the extinction of the small animals or sea creatures. in spite of occurred to dinosaurs, scientists agree that it must have affected the completed international
2016-12-01 03:15:39
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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The most accepted theory is that a large meteorite hit the earth and caused so much dust and debris to fly into the atmosphere that the sunlight was blocked and the weather cooled significantly. Since dinosaurs were cold-blooded and needed the warmth, they could not live in the cold conditions.
2006-07-12 01:24:30
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answer #7
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answered by Blue Jean 6
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not all dinosaurs or ancient reptilians have died out it just our scientist have either ignored the possibility or with held it for whatever reason usually because they have evolved to the point of supreme dominance climaxing to place of thee unseen "Big Brother's Father" remember they are finding new dinosaurs from ones they've have already configured incorrectly but experience clarity when a whole an complete fossil is found. (Does the snake or devil (lived) in the bible sound familiar "reptilian" as subtle as any of the beast of the ground
2006-07-12 07:26:48
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answer #8
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answered by ebreezie202 1
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Nobody is too sure. The most widely accepted reason is because of a meteorite collision which resulted in wide scale destruction of life.
2006-07-12 02:29:26
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answer #9
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answered by Elephas Maximus 3
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Global warming.
2006-07-12 01:22:57
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answer #10
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answered by Snappy 3
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