Dinosaur Extinction Essay

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The Dinosaur Extinction
It has been only a few million years since human existence started on this planet, these few million years are considered very less when compared with the planet earth’s existence. Many creatures walked this planet and dominated other species before evolution of human beings. One such species were the dinosaurs, dinosaurs have been the center of human interest since the day their fossils were discovered by the zoologists. Many experiments and researches were conducted and being conducted in order to understand a little bit more about these amazing creatures which once dominated planet earth.
What were dinosaurs like? How did they survive? How did they become extinct? These are some of the many questions to which answers are being sought. Dinosaurs were one of the largest creatures to ever walk the earth and one of the mysterious creatures too, how they survived and how they became extinct in a flash has been a mystery. One of the many theories associated with dinosaur extinction is an asteroid collision with earth.
The Extraterrestrial Impact Hypothesis
Approximately sixty five million years ago, last of the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct and marked the end of the Cretaceous age and the beginning of Paleogene age. One of the most widely accepted theory supporting the above change was an extraterrestrial impact maybe by a comet or an asteroid. There is a reason why scientists have arrived at this hypothesis, the reason being scientists have found a layer of rock all around the world which is rich in the metal iridium. Iridium is a very rare metal which is not easily found on earth’s crust, but is found abundantly on meteorites. The layer of rock found by scientists is as rich in the metal iridium as that o...

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...r the K-Pg impact led to the increase of mammal population all around the planet to fill the gap left by the dinosaur extinction. The mammals which evolved after the K-Pg impact were 9.1% larger than those of the mammals existing pre K-Pg impact. The giant lizards and snakes of the pre K-Pg impact were replaced with iguanas, monitors lizards etc on land and by giant sea snakes, eels etc in the sea. Many insects also diversified to fill the gaps created by the extinction of leaf eating insects.
Though there are many hypotheses present to explain the extinction of the largest creatures the planet has ever seen, there are very few definitive answers to what might have triggered the extinction of these amazing creatures. Scientists continue to ponder and research over the various reasons for the extinction and we may find many other hypotheses explaining the extinction.

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