Re: Looking for patterns in extinctions.

[Stan Friesen <swf@ElSegundoCA.ATTGIS.COM>]

From: John Bois <jbois@umd5.umd.edu>

 > 3.  Well, anyway, here is a pattern which explains survivors as
 > well as losers.  Things that survived the K/T were stealthy egg
 > layers (birds, snakes, turtles, and lizards), non-egg layers
 > (most mammals), and crocodiles (niche sovereigns).

Except that, according to Archibald's data from the Hell Creek
and Lance formations, 75% of the lizards and about 70% of the
marsupials also died.  [He lists only one fragmentary booid snake
from the Hell Creek, and declines to guess whether it survived or
not, on the grounds of insufficient evidence].

 >  Things that
 > didn't make it were non-stealthy egg-layers, i.e., the dinosaurs. 

And NO salamanders died, and I would call them non-stealthy egg-layers,
although they *are* aquatic egg-layers. [Salamander egg masses take
the form of large gelatinous clumps].

swf@elsegundoca.attgis.com              sarima@netcom.com

The peace of God be with you.