What's your all-time fav Mass Extinction Event?

[Kyuss Apollo]

Time to let the cat out of the bag and reveal which Mass Extinction Events you find most intriguing.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

[Crumb]

My favorites are the ones that appear to occur 26 million years apart. (at least I think it is 26; it's been awhile)

[Ensign Steve]

Dinosaurs win, every time. Well, except that one time that I voted for. But still, yay dinos! :ddino:

[Crumb]

Oh there's a poll...

Cambrian-Ordovician, obviously, all the others are just rehashes, but the Cambrian-Ordovician was cutting edge at the time. :giggles:

[Ymir's blood]

Holocene extinction event, naturally.

:mori:

[Ari]

I have to go with K-T because it was the best of the group portrayed in 80s claymation.

[ceptimus]

I voted for the Ordovician-Silurian as it got rid of more of those pesky trilobites.

The Cambrian-Ordovician had a good shot at them, and they only lingered on for a mere 44 million years before another extinction event got rid of some more!

ETA: I find that some of the blighters struggled on for another 190 million years or so till the Permian-Triassic event.

[Nullifidian]

The Permian-Triassic extinction is the best. After all, if bigger isn't better, then why did I learn that in my high school's locker room?

You are missing the one extinction event which might have competed with the above for my favorite: the Devonian/Carboniferous extinction, which killed off the placoderms. Day-um those things were scary!

http://www.dinosaurreproductions.com/Dunkleosteus%20Skull.jpg

[livius drusus]

It looks like a very large, very scary moray eel.

[trientalis]

If it slithers around
Without making a sound
That's...a moray.


"I'll get me coat"

[Pinecone]

:heckled:

[Angakuk]

You left out my favorite, the late pleistocene extinction of the North American mega fauna. Why is it my favorite? Because I am a patriotic American, that's why. Damn liberal Darwinist pinko. It may be small compared to the other mass extinctions, but it is much more cuddly.

[The Lone Ranger]

I'm going to have to go with the Permian/Triassic Extinction Event. Despite my fondness for the Cretaceous/Tertiary Extinction Event (who doesn't love dinosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and ammonites?), the P/T Mass Extinction was much more dramatic, and it arguably had a much more substantial effect of the subsequent evolution of life.

Cheers,

Michael

[Leesifer]

I couldn't decide, so went with the flood one. :woopsie:

[Adora]

House of M...

Oh wait. Make that JKR's "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies" ending to HP.

[Crumb]

No love for the T-J? :no:

[The Lone Ranger]

I love Non Sequitur (http://images.ucomics.com/comics/nq/2007/nq070819.gif).

[Doctor X]

Next Tuesday.

--J.D.

[Qingdai]

If it slithers around
Without making a sound
That's...a moray.


"I'll get me coat"

You are swimming right by,
what bites your thigh?
That's a moray!

I like the Jurassic, I am pretty glad the movie is "extinct" too.

[godfry n. glad]

You left out my favorite, the late pleistocene extinction of the North American mega fauna. Why is it my favorite? Because I am a patriotic American, that's why. Damn liberal Darwinist pinko. It may be small compared to the other mass extinctions, but it is much more cuddly.

I'm with Anga, here. And not because I've wrapped myself in the flag, hugged my mommy and had apple pie for dessert,either. I'm not a "damn liberal Darwinist pinko" like Angakuk, either. (Some confession there, padre). However, I do think that it highlights the ability of one species, even without advanced technologies, to overextend itself and deplete the available resources without even realizing what the heck it is doing.

Like it couldn't happen again....oh, nooooo...we learned from the last time.

As if.

[Angakuk]

You left out my favorite, the late pleistocene extinction of the North American mega fauna. Why is it my favorite? Because I am a patriotic American, that's why. Damn liberal Darwinist pinko. It may be small compared to the other mass extinctions, but it is much more cuddly.

I'm with Anga, here. And not because I've wrapped myself in the flag, hugged my mommy and had apple pie for dessert,either. I'm not a "damn liberal Darwinist pinko" like Angakuk, either. (Some confession there, padre). However, I do think that it highlights the ability of one species, even without advanced technologies, to overextend itself and deplete the available resources without even realizing what the heck it is doing.

Like it couldn't happen again....oh, nooooo...we learned from the last time.

As if.

I know that you did not mis-understand that the "[d]amn liberal Darwinist pinko" comment was directed at Kyuss Apollo and all of his faggot friends who are nothing less than apologists for those other, way over-rated, extinction events. You are just being a prick, as usual.

As I am sure you are aware, the causes of the late pleistocene megafauna mass extinction event are inadequately understood. My favorite theory (http://www.centerfirstamericans.com/mt.php?a=36&h=firestone), at the moment, is the one where they were killed off by massive doses of gamma radiation from a nova. Mostly, I like that theory because it completely upsets the archeological/paleontological applecart. But I also like that it absolves the First Americans from any guilt associated with that extinction. As a Truly Patriotic Christian American© I am all in favor of absolution for Americans, regardless of when or where they lived.

[godfry n. glad]

You left out my favorite, the late pleistocene extinction of the North American mega fauna. Why is it my favorite? Because I am a patriotic American, that's why. Damn liberal Darwinist pinko. It may be small compared to the other mass extinctions, but it is much more cuddly.

I'm with Anga, here. And not because I've wrapped myself in the flag, hugged my mommy and had apple pie for dessert,either. I'm not a "damn liberal Darwinist pinko" like Angakuk, either. (Some confession there, padre). However, I do think that it highlights the ability of one species, even without advanced technologies, to overextend itself and deplete the available resources without even realizing what the heck it is doing.

Like it couldn't happen again....oh, nooooo...we learned from the last time.

As if.

I know that you did not mis-understand that the "[d]amn liberal Darwinist pinko" comment was directed at Kyuss Apollo and all of his faggot friends who are nothing less than apologists for those other, way over-rated, extinction events. You are just being a prick, as usual.

As I am sure you are aware, the causes of the late pleistocene megafauna mass extinction event are inadequately understood. My favorite theory (http://www.centerfirstamericans.com/mt.php?a=36&h=firestone), at the moment, is the one where they were killed off by massive doses of gamma radiation from a nova. Mostly, I like that theory because it completely upsets the archeological/paleontological applecart. But I also like that it absolves the First Americans from any guilt associated with that extinction. As a Truly Patriotic Christian American© I am all in favor of absolution for Americans, regardless of when or where they lived.


No!...I misread that?

But...but...it doesn't say, "You damn liberal Darwinist pinko".

Interesting hypothesis. How come the massive doses of gamma radiation from a nova didn't affect the humanoids?

You seem to be pretty eager to jump in and absolve, skypilot...Are you sure you haven't got that flag in your eyes?

Are you sure you're not Missouri Synod?

[wildernesse]

In response to "Were you there?" I like to say: Yes.

Holocene, thank you very much.

[Angakuk]

No!...I misread that?

But...but...it doesn't say, "You damn liberal Darwinist pinko".
The "you" was written with invisible ink.

Interesting hypothesis. How come the massive doses of gamma radiation from a nova didn't affect the humanoids?

This gets a brief mention toward the end of the linked article. I have highlighted the relevant passage.

A devastating effect on Earth
The enormous energy released by the catastrophe at 12,500 yr B.P. could have heated the atmosphere to over 1000°C over Michigan, and the neutron flux at more northern locations would have melted considerable glacial ice. Radiation effects on plants and animals exposed to the cosmic rays would have been lethal, comparable to being irradiated in a 5-megawatt reactor more than 100 seconds.

The overall pattern of the catastrophe matches the pattern of mass extinction before Holocene times. The Western Hemisphere was more affected than the Eastern, North America more than South America, and eastern North America more than western North America.51,52,53 Extinction in the Great Lakes area was more rapid and pronounced than elsewhere. Larger animals were more affected than smaller ones, a pattern that conforms to the expectation that radiation exposure affects large bodies more than smaller ones.54,55 Sharp fluctuations of 14C in the Icelandic marine sediments at each geomagnetic excursion are interesting; because global carbon deposits in the ocean sediments at a rate of only about 0.0005 percent a year, a sudden increase in sediment 14C may reflect the rapid die-off of organisms that incorporated radiocarbon shortly after bombardment.

Massive radiation would be expected to cause major mutations in plant life. Maize probably evolved by macro-mutation at that time,55,56 and plant domestication of possibly mutated forms appears worldwide after the Late Glacial period. For example, there was a rapid transition from wild to domesticated grains in the Near East after the catastrophe.57

Just to provide some balance (Why? Because I can when I want to.) MT did publish a rebuttal of the argument here (http://www.centerfirstamericans.com/mt.php?a=61).

Are you sure you're not Missouri Synod?
Certain. The Missouri Synod is much more into condemnation than absolution. For everyone that does not belong to the Missouri Synod that is.

[Kyuss Apollo]

You are missing the one extinction event which might have competed with the above for my favorite: the Devonian/Carboniferous extinction, which killed off the placoderms. Day-um those things were scary!


I didn't include the Devonian/Carboniferous extinction, because even though a lot of life got killed off, the extinction took place in three distinct phases (see D below). Combined, they would have been as big as the other biggies, but individually...:meh:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/Extinction_Intensity.png

You left out my favorite, the late pleistocene extinction of the North American mega fauna. Why is it my favorite? Because I am a patriotic American, that's why. Damn liberal Darwinist pinko. It may be small compared to the other mass extinctions, but it is much more cuddly.

Actually, your mega-fauna extinction, Mr. kuk, is included in the "Holocene extinction event (Present day: caused by human destruction of the biosphere)" choice. Why? It only happened 10,000 years ago. In the time-spans we are talking about 10K's insignificant and would not be parsed out (in fact the graph above doesn't even bother to include it--the line would be too thin to see), and it was caused by humans.

Unless you want to keep going for the Cosmic Death Ray scenario. :laughdie:

:powerpoke: Cosmic Death Ray.

[beyelzu]

how about the mass extinction event we are living in right now, you know the one caused by us killing shit?

definitely my favorite cuz well, turns out a bunch of humans is just as powerful as a meteor strike.

[Suds]

who doesn't love dinosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and ammonites?),

Asteroids and vulcanism.

I voted permian/triassic. It was just so big.

The one that is recored in the Burgess Shale is good aswell.

[Uthgar the Brazen]

I voted for the current/impending one. It's egocentric of me, but I can't help but root for the team I'm on.

*throws some more styrofoam on the grill*

[Ensign Steve]

how about the mass extinction event we are living in right now, you know the one caused by us killing shit?


It's there on the poll, dude. Second from the bottom.