Caribbean Extinctions Occurred Two Million Years After Apparent Cause

[Redwinger]

Smithsonian scientists and colleagues report a new study that may shake up the way paleontologists think about how environmental change shapes life on Earth. The researchers summarized the environmental, ecological and evolutionary consequences for Caribbean shallow-water marine communities when the Isthmus of Panama was formed. They concluded that extinctions resulting when one ocean became two were delayed by 2 million years.

More... (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312231743.htm)