RE: Human male infertility, the Y chromosome, and dinosaur extinction

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-VRTPALEO@usc.edu [mailto:owner-VRTPALEO@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of Peter Moon
>
> Hi, folks
> 
> Did you notice it?
> 
> Sherman J. Silber. 2011. Human male infertility, the Y 
> chromosome, and dinosaur extinction. Middle East Fertility 
> Society Journal, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 
> 17 February 2011 

[snip]
 
> The absence of such a genetic sex 
> determining mechanism in dinosaurs may have led to a skewed 
> sex ratio when global temperature dramatically changed 
> 65,000,000 years ago, resulting in a preponderance of males, 
> and consequentially a rapid decline in population.
> 

Any enterprising person out there with more than enough time on their hands (I 
suppose that is theoretically possible... :-S) should
try to find the periodicty of this hypothesis. That is, does it reappear on a 
regular basis, or merely a stochastic one?

And if someone can figure your to combine the "sex determination extinction" 
hypothesis with "periodic mass extinction due to the
Solar System passing through the plane of the galaxy" model, you've got a great 
combination...

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA