Re: Re: Life's scale reduction since the Dinosaurs

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Thu, 25 Jan 1996, th81 wrote:

> >
> >Odd.  You do realize, of course, that the largest dinosaurs came at the 
> >*middle* of the Mesozoic,
> 
> A Dino Myth alert!  Unless Amphicoelias was real, all the largest sauropods
> are Cretaceous: Cenomanian Argentinosaurus and late Senonian (Campanian?
> Maastrichtian?  Have to check) Argyrosaurus and "Antarctosaurus" giganteus
> outclass the big Jurassic sauropods.

Sorry for the mental lapse.  BTW, what do you mean "unless Amphicoelias 
[fragillimus]  was real?"  Even the one dorsal vertebra indicates that 
there was SOMETHING very large wandering around back then!

Anyway, the presence of ultra-large sauropods at the end counters the 
"shrinking life" theory even better.

Or maybe the "shrinking life" theory is just a corollary of the "growing 
earth" theory.  I must tell the guys over at sci.bio.paleo about this one...


> Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
> Vertebrate Paleontologist

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8204
PharriNJ@PLU.edu

"If you can't convince them, confuse them." -- Harry S. Truman