Major extinctions of land-dwelling vertebrates at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, eastern Montana

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 1992 Major extinctions of land-dwelling vertebrates at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, eastern Montana Peter M. Sheehan; Peter M. Sheehan 1Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 West Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David E. Fastovsky David E. Fastovsky 2Department of Geology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Peter M. Sheehan 1Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 West Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233 David E. Fastovsky 2Department of Geology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1992) 20 (6): 556–560. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0556:MEOLDV>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Peter M. Sheehan, David E. Fastovsky; Major extinctions of land-dwelling vertebrates at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, eastern Montana. Geology 1992;; 20 (6): 556–560. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0556:MEOLDV>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract A large database recording species of terrestrial vertebrates present in formations above and below the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary in eastern Montana was assembled by J. D. Archibald and L. J. Bryant. Division of the species in this database into freshwater and land-dwelling vertebrate assemblages reveals that the K-T vertebrate extinction was concentrated in land- dwelling forms. In data corrected for the effects of rare taxa, 90% of the species in the freshwater assemblage survived into the Tertiary, but only 12% of the land-dwelling forms survived. The pattern of differential extinction of terrestrial vertebrates in eastern Montana may be in large part the result of the dependence of land-based communities on primary productivity. This is in contrast to the riverine communities, which may derive much of their organic carbon from detritus. The pattern of extinction and survival is compatible with the hypothesis of an asteroid impact after which there was a temporary cessation of primary, photosynthetic productivity. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.