Roberts R G, Flannery T F, Ayliffe L K, Yoshida H, Olley J M, Prideaux G J, Laslett G M, Baynes A, Smith M A, Jones R, Smith B L
School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Science. 2001 Jun 8;292(5523):1888-92. doi: 10.1126/science.1060264.
All Australian land mammals, reptiles, and birds weighing more than 100 kilograms, and six of the seven genera with a body mass of 45 to 100 kilograms, perished in the late Quaternary. The timing and causes of these extinctions remain uncertain. We report burial ages for megafauna from 28 sites and infer extinction across the continent around 46,400 years ago (95% confidence interval, 51,200 to 39,800 years ago). Our results rule out extreme aridity at the Last Glacial Maximum as the cause of extinction, but not other climatic impacts; a "blitzkrieg" model of human-induced extinction; or an extended period of anthropogenic ecosystem disruption.
所有体重超过100千克的澳大利亚陆地哺乳动物、爬行动物和鸟类，以及七个体重在45至100千克之间的属中的六个，都在第四纪晚期灭绝了。这些灭绝事件的时间和原因仍不确定。我们报告了来自28个地点的巨型动物的埋藏年龄，并推断整个大陆的灭绝发生在大约46400年前（95%置信区间为51200至39800年前）。我们的结果排除了末次盛冰期的极端干旱是灭绝原因，但并未排除其他气候影响；人类导致灭绝的“闪电战”模式；或人为生态系统长期破坏的可能性。
