RE: Extinction due to "blue balls"

["Allan Edels" <edels@msn.Com>]

I took a class from Peter Dodson back in 1986 concerning extinction
theories, and the temperature dependent sex determination was covered
back then - admittedly, without supporting papers.  At that time, the
idea was only mildly interesting as an outside possibility.

I put together an article that I used for teaching the same topic, and
90% of the information from back hasn't changed much - just some more
support for one or two of the possible causes, and one or two
possibilities lost their support.

Later,

Allan Edels


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-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu] On Behalf
Of Jeff Hecht
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 4:53 PM
To: archosauromorph2@hotmail.com; dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Extinction due to "blue balls"

At 4:16 PM -0400 4/21/04, Brad McFeeters wrote:
>
>The other paper you are thinking of is probably this one:
>
>Paladino, F. V., Spotila, J., Dodson, P. and Hammond. J. K. (1989). 
>Temperature dependent sex deterinination for reptiles, and the 
>implications for dinosaur population dynamics and possible 
>extinction. Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 238: 63-70.

That sounds about the right time.

>
>I haven't read either of them yet, so I don't know what new 
>information Miller et al. are adding.
>
>I don't understand how this theory is to have any scientific value, 
>since no one knows how to study sex determination in non-neornithean 
>dinosaurs.  They might as well be writing about the implications of 
>dinosaurs having been a particular colour.   Looks like a publicity 
>stunt to me:  "Dinosaurs", "Extinction" and "Sex" in one headline!
>
The scientific value would be in trying to deduce a pattern of 
survival and sex determination, but I'm not convinced that's 
possible. The headline value is certainly there, and explains how it 
got reported anywhere. -- Jeff Hecht