ABSTRACT
Part of the fascination we have with dinosaurs has to do with their demise. How could a group as long-lived and successful as the dinosaurs be completely obliterated? What does this mean for our own future? This chapter differentiates the many types of extinctions our planet has undergone, and is currently undergoing. Evidence for the five major mass extinctions in the history of our planet is discussed, as well as how those have affected life on this planet currently. It also covers the three main extinctions that shaped the origin and evolution of the dinosaurs. Along the way, contributing factors that make vertebrate groups more or less likely to go extinct are explored. Finally, the chapter examines the particular factors that created the “perfect storm” resulting in the death of the last non-avian dinosaurs, and how our planet has recovered from mass extinctions by filling the niches once occupied by the mighty dinosaurs with living groups.
