Chiarenza, AA; Brusatte, SL; (2024) Dinosaurs, Extinction Theories for. In: Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. (pp. 298-309). Elsevier: Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Abstract

Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, 66 million years ago, with currently two leading contenders: a sudden and catastrophic extinction driven by the impact of an extra-terrestrial body, or a more gradual decline, possibly driven by an extensive period of volcanism. It is now indisputable that an asteroid struck the Earth at the end of the Cretaceous, creating a large crater in Mexico, and that large volcanic eruptions were occurring during the latest Cretaceous in India. The dinosaur fossil record does show evidence of biodiversity loss during the final million years of the Cretaceous. The weight of evidence, however, currently indicates that the gradual decline in number of species in North America—the best sampled region—is more likely attributable to a series of geologic biases affecting the latest Cretaceous terrestrial fossil record. New discoveries from other parts of the world reveal how other regions preserve highly diverse dinosaurian faunas, distinct from North America, until the end of the Cretaceous, adding to the evidence that dinosaurs were still thriving worldwide when the bolide struck. Although many scenarios have been proposed for the dinosaur extinction, and although it is currently difficult to conclusively test how Deccan eruptions may have affected dinosaur community structure and ecological resilience, the end-Cretaceous mass extinction seems to be unique in being attributable to a single, devastating agent: the Chicxulub impact.

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