Bird Flu and the Extinction of Dinosaur

[chcc]

Considering the recent proof of the relationship between dinosaurs and birds, would the extinction of dinosaurs was somehow linked to a possible bird flu disease that was wild spread in the pre-historic period?

 

I have considered the following facts that may lead to the build of the above hypothesis:

 

1. The relationship between bird and dinosaurs that were linked directly or indirectly, which means DNAs that could have inherited genes that were capable to pass over any kind of pre-historic bird flu;

 

2. The sudden extinction of dinosaurs could may have caused by other possible factors, such as global warming or comet impact, however, the chance of having a comet impact was very rare and the sudden weather changes would have taken a longer span of time, and the small aquatic animals were still left behind that did not theoretically agree to a food chain theory;

 

3. Dinosaurs were ruling the whole globe at the time when the extinction happened. We have known for various species of dinosaurs that were flying and swimming, which could have possibly brought a bird flu disease around the world easily, while leaving the living beings unharmed such as fishes or whales;

 

4. The vast number of dinosaurs and their feces were considered 'large' enough to transmit potential disease very easily in the pre-historic time. Remember, when dinosaurs were ruling the world in the Jurrasic period, most of today's continents were still linked to each other as being called Pangea, where the dinosaurs were able to carry around the disease without geographic limitation.

 

After expressing my hypothesis above, what do you think about it? Please feel free to comment or email to me at chcchu@hotmail.com.

[rakuenso]

no matter how virulent the bird flu was, i highly doubt that it is capable of causing an extinction.

[AzurePhoenix]

That would be the equivalent of a mammalian flu spreading to and wiping out almost every species of mammal; unlikely. Also, The dinosaurs were just a amsll though notable portion of the KT-Event extinctions. All the carnivorous and non-dinosaurian sea-reptiles were wiped out (there were no whales) and almost nothing heavier than something like fifty pounds or so survived on land. The pterosaurs died out, large reptiles of other groups, many, many types of animals, most of whom wouldn't be affected by a disease that could remarkably wipe out every variety of dino in turn.

 

Why did birds, dinos themselves, survive this extinction? They should have been more vulnerable than some of the other victims if it were a disease, yet they pulled through. Why? Because they were small and adaptable, like all the other surivivors.

 

2. The sudden extinction of dinosaurs could may have caused by other possible factors, such as global warming or comet impact, however, the chance of having a comet impact was very rare and the sudden weather changes would have taken a longer span of time, and the small aquatic animals were still left behind that did not theoretically agree to a food chain theory;

Rare indeed, but all the evidence, including the kt boundary itself and a whopping crater in the yucatan point to the conclusion that it did happen, whther or not it was wholly or only partially responsible.

Remember, when dinosaurs were ruling the world in the Jurrasic period, most of today's continents were still linked to each other as being called Pangea, where the dinosaurs were able to carry around the disease without geographic limitation.

Yes, but by the time the cretaceous rolled around, millions of years had passed and it was an entirely new era; too much time had passed for this miracle-disease to just lay dormant then suddenly awaken everywhere at once and strike creatures that had diverged for countless generations. Even in the Jurassic itself dino-variation was hugely diverse.