The extent of terrestrial vertebrate extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous is poorly understood, and estimates have ranged from a mass extinction to limited extinctions of specific groups. Molecular and paleontological data demonstrate that modern bird orders started diverging in the Early Cretaceous; at least 22 avian lineages of modern birds crass the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Data for several other terrestrial vertebrate groups indicate a similar pattern of survival and, taken together, favor incremental changes during a Cretaceous diversification of birds and mammals rather than an explosive radiation in the Early Tertiary.
CITATION STYLE
Cooper, A., & Penny, D. (1997). Mass survival of birds across the Cretaceous-tertiary boundary: Molecular evidence. Science, 275(5303), 1109–1113. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.275.5303.1109
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