Cretaceous Extinction

        During the end of the cretaceous period (140 to 65 million years ago) there was a very big mass extinction. The extinction occurred approximately 65.5 million years ago.This extinction caused the dinosaurs to wipe out. A lot of other animals became extinct also. All animals over 55 pounds became extinct and so did other organisms too. 85% of all species became extinct including plants and invertebrates. 80-90% of all marine species became extinct.

      The cause of the extinction was a big meteorite hitting Earth. After the meteor hit Earth, the dust clouds that came out of it blocked the sun which caused most of the deaths. Also, the meteor could have produced acid rain. This extinction was a very short extinction which required a very little amount of time untill it was over. Another name for the Cretaceous Extinction is the K-T Extinction. The "K" stands for Cretaceous in German and the "T" stands for the Tertiary period.

For more infomation about the Cretaceous Extinction, click here

I got a picture from here.

Bibliography

Extinction II: The Cretaceous Extinction

By Beverly Eschbeger

July 6, 2001

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/paleontology/73078