[meteorite-list] Holocene start Extinction Level Event

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Sterling - 

"Remind me again: how does a Comet in Canada kill a furry
mastodon in South America? Both Mammoths and Mastodons
are unique Ice Age critters, elephants with fur coats! But
notice that while there are Mammoths in Canada and Alaska
and Siberia (Brrr!), the Mastodons preferred Kentucky,
Missouri, and Lu-Ezi-Anna, not mention South America.
So, how does ONE climate change kill off TWO genera
with such different climatic tastes?"

First off, that's comet fragments, more than one, and their dust.

How? By starvation. Same thing that killed the horses at the same time. Bison survived; they were hardy, and ate short tundra like grass.

Mammoth and mastodon fur is suspected to be insulating against both cold and heat, like a camel's fur. 

The big mystery is the mammoth survival on the northern islands. But then birds are dinosaurs - I suppose it will be worked out in time.

It sure would be nice to get a date and impactor type for the Ilturalde Crater.

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas