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bachmanity t1_j6p1ua4 wrote

Reply to comment by stumpdawg in Eli5 How did the dinosaurs really die? by [deleted]

The Fungal Infection Mammalian Selection hypothesis says that the killing mechanism was unchecked fungal infections as the temperature dropped. Modern cold blooded creatures suffer from bone infections if their body temperature stays too low.

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RhynoD t1_j6pi2q5 wrote

I think that hypothesis more accurately explains why reptiles did not rise back up to the dominant roles that mammals filled. The fungi were fed in part by the massive die-off of plants and animals following the meteor.

There are also some evidence to suggest that a mass extinction due to natural climate change at the time was already beginning and the meteor cranked what was already a huge ecological upheaval to 11.

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