Talk:List of extinction events

Timeline mislabled
The scale claims to be labeled years before present, but all the numbers are negative. Negative years before present equals positive years AFTER present which is clearly wrong. I suggest it be re-labeled "years relative to present" to be least confusing. 108.233.124.132 (talk) 01:29, 22 October 2019 (UTC) Twitter/CalRobert
 * I agree. It can be fixed at ExtEvent nav.  —Biscuit-in-Chief :-)  (Talk – Contribs) 20:08, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Volcanic Traps and their associated Large Impact Events
Looking at Various Volcanic Traps ( sequential lava flows ), at the same time as Large Impact events, the two locations were probably antipodal. The Energy from the Large impact events would refract and reflect inside the Earth and come back to an anti-podal focal point that is located 180 degrees away from the Impact site in all directions. The refocusing of energy will severely fracture the Earth's surface at that point leading to extensive, and repeated lava flows. For example: The Deccan Traps was antipodal to the Chicxulub Impact site when the Impact site was 3 degrees north of the Equator, and the Deccan Traps site was 3 degrees south of the equator, both at 66.043 Ma. Both sites are now far north of the equator, as most of the continents are now north of the equator. A similar antipodal set up would be associated with the Wilkes Land Impact site, and the Siberian Traps at 252.17 Ma. The Impact near to the South Pole, and the Traps near to the North Pole.

This same concept can be applied to the other Impact-Traps extinction events.63.225.17.34 (talk) 21:14, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Dear (63.225.17.34), I happened to be investigating this very topic a few years back and ran into this article. It may be of interest to you: https://www.princeton.edu/news/2011/10/19/impact-study-princeton-model-shows-fallout-giant-meteorite-strike#top --Frunobulax (talk) 00:15, 31 July 2021 (UTC)

New research into the Late Devonian extinction
Can "collapse of ozone layer" be added to "Probable causes" under Late Devonian extinction, per https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/22/eaba0768?  —Biscuit-in-Chief :-)  (/tɔːk/ – /ˈkɒntɹɪbs/) 20:29, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

Cause of Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event
has deleted the Deccan Traps as a possible cause of the extinction as "a tiny minority opinion and borderline fringe". This is true as a sole cause, but not as a contributory one. See for example and. Also, the source cited for impact in the article is a book putting forward a fringe theory by an astrophysicist that the impact was caused by dark matter, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs. I suggest showing impact as the main cause with volcanism as a possible contributory one giving the two sources above as references. Dudley Miles (talk) 22:40, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
 * My original edit did exactly that, described the Deccan Traps as a possible contributor that most scientists reject, but you reverted me. That said, Deccan Traps is a small enough minority view that it doesn't belong here on a list article - on the detailed article about the extinction, sure, but not here.
 * Also, this entire list is plagued by entries of "thing?" which I don't like because it leaves the reader very little understanding of what that question mark is supposed to represent. I would like to see all of these question marks deleted and replaced with words like hypothesis, fringe theory, possibility, etc. Oiyarbepsy (talk) 00:13, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * On your first point, this is your view and not my understanding. The sources I have read mostly say that the bolide was the main cause but not the only one. You need to cite reliable sources, not amend leaving a fringe source as the reference. On your second point, I agree, but again only with citation of reliable sources. Dudley Miles (talk) 09:48, 4 January 2021 (UTC)


 * I'll also add that a geologic feature is not a cause of an extinction event, but it's formation or it's actions might be. I've reworded the Deccan traps entry accordingly and will review other entries for this flaw. Oiyarbepsy (talk) 18:41, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Can you cite a reliable scientific source that doesn't accept Chicxulub as the cause of the extinction? Oiyarbepsy (talk) 16:34, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
 * So far as I can discover, reliable sources now accept Chicxulub as the primary cause, but some think that the dinosaurs might have survived if it had not coincided with the Deccan Traps. My edit reflects that as it gives Chicxulub unequivocally as the cause. I have deleted "universally accepted" as that would include fringe views. Dudley Miles (talk) 17:19, 8 February 2021 (UTC)