Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Issue Contents

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How real are biological extinctions in the fossil record?

Much has been made by catastrophists of the apparent wholesale extinctions of many forms of life from one geological period to another. Some uniformitarians have been arguing all along that these so-called extinctions are more apparent than real. The present study supports this view with its study of world-wide records of the Triassic-Jurassic transition period. Correlation of U.S. and South African rocks imply that this key geological interface was actually a period of gradual faunal replacement rather than sudden, simultaneous extinction of live forms.

(Olsen, Paul E., and Galton, Peter M.; "Triassic-Jurassic Tetrapod Extinctions: Are They Real?" Science, 197:983, 1977.)

From Science Frontiers #2, January 1978. © 1978-2000 William R. Corliss

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Science Frontiers Sourcebook Project Reviewed in: Icarus: Volume 41, Issue 3, p. 470-470 1984, Vol.56:3, P.615 1983, Vol.58:3 June 1984, Vol.60:3 Dec 1984, Vol.72:3 Dec 1987 Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 81, no. 1 1987 American Journal of Physics, Volume 52, Issue 8, p. 764 August 1984 Quotes "Before opening the book, I set certain standards that a volume which treads into dangerous grounds grounds like this must meet. The author scrupulously met, or even exceeded those standards. Each phenomenon is exhaustively documented, with references to scientific journals [..] and extensive quotations" -- "Book Review: The moon and planets: a catalog of astronomical anomalies", The Sourcebook Project, 1985., Corliss, W. R., Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada>, Vol. 81, no. 1 (1987), p. 24., 02/1987