Some Dinosaurs Made Underground Dens

anthemaniac writes "Scientists have long puzzled over how some dinosaurs and other creatures survived the asteroid impact that supposedly caused the KT mass extinction 65 million years ago and wiped out all the big dinosaurs. One idea has been that smaller animals, including mammals, could have endured the fallout, the big chill, the subsequent volcanoes, and whatever else by burrowing. Now scientists have come up with the first evidence of burrowing dinosaurs. They speculate that underground dens might explain how some dinosaurs got through long, dark winters at high latitudes, too."

Re:Correction

[Anonymous Coward]

man, the repetativeness of religion bashing and jokes about chairs and a certain microsoft executive make beavis and butthead look like a thinking mans comedy around here.
 
seriously guys, it's getting old. if you can't find something more original to pull out of your ass either you're twice as dumb as they are or they're right.

Re:On the evolutionary tree...

[TapeCutter]

"What you said makes no sense."

True, but I think there is a good question underneath it: When did animals that "sleep" on a seasonal timetable diverge from animals that "sleep" on a daily timetable, or is an animals sleep pattern a recuring mutation in the wiring for the "sleep instinct" that is triggered by climate/daylight/resources/whatever?

"Estivate?"

I'm nearly 50 and would also have said "hibernate". You taught me a new word today, thanks.

Dinosaur extinction breaks my brain

[robson]

*Why* were dinosaurs the ones to be wiped out completely?

Mammals survived because they're small? There were small dinosaurs.

Fish survived because they're water-dwelling? There were water-dwelling dinosaurs.

Reptiles survived because...?!?

I'm sure it's more complicated than this, and that's why I'm asking -- can someone help me understand? Why every dinosaur on the planet, regardless of habitat/diet/size died, while so many non-dinosaurs survived?

I can believe that

[zogger]

We have a small flock of what I now call the "cluckeraptors", because they certainly *act* like I imagine dinosaurs would act. I mean, they may be small and feathery and soft looking, but watch them run around the yard and interact with each other and you can see how utterly ruthless and focused they are. A few primary drives to them and not much else. For instance if one of them gets injured or the least bit "off" or ill, the others will be merciless with them, it's like they can't stand weakness and translate that to "food". Fascinating to watch really. Lean down close and look a rooster right in the eye, you can see the miniature power there. If they were say ten feet tall or larger, yes indeedy they would be serious nasty predators.

Re:Dinosaur extinction breaks my brain

[orkysoft]

Dinosaurs is what we call the reptiles that went extinct about 65 million years ago.

That should answer your question why all the dinosaurs went extinct. They're defined that way.

Dinosaurs

[Christheclaw]

I find it odd that people get so angry when evolution is attacked. Science should be attacked so that science can be explored.I don't think that the fact that all things that exist in corralation to one another. Sand, water, air, creatures, plants, why are they in delicate balance>? Not to mention everything has a mathmatical base. And why do chemicals relate in solid, clear, reactions to one another? Why are there creatures that live in symbiotic relation with certain plants or parasites>? Why does everything although random still have a basic orderly base? Why do animals have genetic pools they come from, even though they vary, they still do not leave that pool, but instead point to a orgin of one set of animals. If evolution does exisit, that means man had to have had relations with a monkey in order to get more of the same species and a purifying of this to the human species we have now. In that case, that would mean that humans are but one of many apes and receding genes would have difinitive characteristics of true apes as the theory suggests. It was even shown on National Geographic that the origin of man has been traced to messopotamia. Believe in the existance of God or do not, science does not really clarify whether or not evolution is the answer. Species hopping seems so odd to me as a concept even after billions of years because you would see these traits no matter how remote in the genetic strain.As for a flood theory, there is evidence among world wide culture there was a flood. It would make sense if animals had procreated beyond their original set pool and variations had happened, then larger species for the most part would have died and climatic changes would have happened as well. Maybe not as we typically veiw a Biblical perspective but close enough. I veiw that slamming either side is rediculous. Look at science with an open mind and you get answers, there may be answers under your nose.

Re:Dinosaurs

[Anonymous Coward]

Science is manifestly not about looking at stuff with an open mind. That's when you start giving things like magic spells and Timecube undue credit.

Science is about looking at stuff with a critical mind. The reason science works is that it has the most stringent criteria for acceptance of ideas - only if it matches empirical data better than anything we already have; and even then, only until we come up with something better.

When evolution is attacked, science itself is attacked. It would be no different if gravity were attacked:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39512 [theonion.com]