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Re: ammonites vs nautiloids (was Hell Creek (VERY LONG))



At 09:05 PM 05/06/02 +1000, Colin McHenry wrote:
This may be the reason that the marine turtles survived the K/T.  Even if
all adults (usually foraging in coastal waters) got wiped out, there is
usually about five years' worth of juveniles out to sea (sort of like a big
aquatic seed bank), waiting to grow up and come to shore.  If the pelagic
systems were less affected by the extinctions than the coastal systems this
may explain way the turtles, alone of all marine reptiles, were able to
survive the boundary.

One group of marine turtles that did not make it, the Protostegidae (including Archelon) may have been ammonite specialists - like ammonites, they, too declined in diversity well before the K-T boundary.



--
Ronald I. Orenstein Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
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