Cretaceous

• Was it a slow, inevitable decline, or did the end come quickly, driven by a sudden, unpredictable disaster?
• Georges Cuvier, working in the early 19th century, was one of the first palaeontologists.
• In part, his ideas were formed by study of a giant sea lizard, Mosasaurus, that lived and went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.
• Massive numbers of species disappeared near the end of the Cretaceous, rapidly, around the world, both on land and in the sea.

Cretaceous marine reptiles

• Near the end of the Cretaceous, sea levels were high, submerging much of Africa underwater.
• And an extraordinary diversity of marine reptiles sat atop the food chain: giant sea turtles, long-necked plesiosaurs – and the mosasaurs.
• These beds, in what’s now Morocco, are today mined for fertiliser, in the process revealing an extraordinary marine ecosystem from the last days of the Cretaceous.
• Far from declining at the end of the Cretaceous, marine reptiles – especially mosasaurs – evolved to become increasingly diverse.
• This arrangement is unique among lizards, or even reptiles.

Resilience and adaptability

• The reason so many mosasaur species could coexist was that they specialised, targeting different prey with different hunting strategies, avoiding competition.
• The diversity of mosasaurs suggests the marine ecosystem was healthy and stable in the last million years before the Cretaceous period ended.
• Seen on longer timescales, over millions of years, life shows remarkable resilience and adaptability, and a certain orderliness.
• But even the most successful, well-adapted species is only one catastrophe away from extinction— one asteroid, one volcano, one ice age.

• HOUSTON, Sept. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jurassic Quest ®, the largest and most realistic interactive dinosaur event on the continent, will return to Canada for a limited winter engagement in Ontario!
• Loved by millions, only Jurassic Quest can bring families memories this BIG!
• Walk through 165 million years of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods to learn about the creatures that ruled the Earth!
• Guests can join "The Quest," a self-guided scavenger hunt style activity where budding paleontologists can become certified Jr. Dinosaur Trainers.

• Greater India refers to a portion of the Indian plate that subducted under Asia, forming the Tibetan Plateau.
• To accurately estimate the kinematics and timing of the India–Asia collision, the extent of Greater India must be defined.
• Professor Jun Meng from CUGB, the study's first author, explains, "There are two primary models for the India–Asia collision.
• These findings augment our understanding of the India–Asia collision and the emergence of various geological structures in these regions.

• TORONTO, Aug. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- White Gold Corp. (TSX.V: WGO, OTCQX: WHGOF, FRA: 29W) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of its maiden diamond drilling program at the Cali target on the Nolan property, in the White Gold District, situated in the west-central region of the Yukon, Canada (Figure 1).
• Cam Norton, Exploration Manager for White Gold states, “The maiden diamond drilling of the Cali target represents an exciting opportunity for White Gold.
• The property hosts several identified gold exploration targets including the Cali, Nine, Nine Southeast, Boucher and Mount Hart targets.
• The Cali target located in the north-central part of the property lies directly on or adjacent to the Sixtymile-Pika Fault, as do several other gold occurrences (e.g.