RE: Extinct Species
April 2, 2012 at 12:11 pm
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2012 at 12:30 pm by Phil.)
(April 2, 2012 at 12:03 pm)FallentoReason Wrote:(April 2, 2012 at 11:59 am)Phil Wrote:(April 2, 2012 at 11:57 am)FallentoReason Wrote:(April 2, 2012 at 8:30 am)Phil Wrote: Considering the average lifetime of a species is 5-10 million years and the first life appeared 3800 million years ago, I have no doubt whatsoever that extinct species are over 99%
Why is it that a species can't last any longer than that?
Who said they can't?
I'm assuming a normal distribution here. Maybe a better question is: has any species lived longer than say 100 million years?
Coelacanth, Nautilus, Giant Tortoises, Ants, Crocodilians and feathered Dinosaurs. Not to mention some Cephalopods and plants (Gingko Biloba for example).
Forgot to mention, I am pretty sure one of the species of the guy with the stone eyes, I mean Trilobite, survived longer than 100 million years. As a whole, they lasted almost 300 million years.
