Why Certain Fishes Went Extinct 65 Million Years Ago
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 21:35
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Large size and a fast bite spelled doom for bony fishes during the last mass extinction 65 million years ago (the same one that led to the extinction of thousands of species of flora and fauna, including dinosaurs). Today, those same features characterize large predatory bony fishes, such as tuna and billfishes, that are currently in decline and at risk of extinction themselves. The hardest hit species are consistently big predators.