According to fossils, dinosaurs flourished for 350,000 years before going extinct, but an asteroid collision abruptly ended their existence
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| Fossils from New Mexico refute the slow decline argument by demonstrating that dinosaur diversity persisted until asteroid impact |
According to recent findings, dinosaurs were still very much alive and well 66 million years ago when a large asteroid struck Earth. Dinosaur communities are varied and rich. New Mexico fossils have been dated to a few hundred thousand years following the impact. The results disprove the original theory that dinosaur populations were already declining when the asteroid struck.
The dinosaurs of New Mexico lasted almost until the end of the Cretaceous, which is around the same period as the Triceratops of Montana, according to this adjustment (from earlier estimates of about 70 million years). A thriving environment just prior to the impact was demonstrated by the team's identification of hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs, and the enormous sauropod Alamosaurus.
"There is no indication that these dinosaurs were in any kind of trouble, that anything out of the ordinary was happening to them, or that they were in any kind of long-term decline," says paleontologist Steve Brusatte. According to these dates, dinosaurs "were not on their way out" before to the asteroid's impact, according to coauthor Andrew Flynn.
Late Cretaceous Fossils: New Dating
As stated by According to the latest study, researchers used radiometric and magnetic techniques to reexamine rock strata in the San Juan Basin (the Naashoibito Member) in latest Mexico. About 350,000 years before to the extinction catastrophe, approximately 66.38 million years ago, they discovered the youngest dinosaur-bearing strata.The dinosaurs of New Mexico lasted almost until the end of the Cretaceous, which is around the same period as the Triceratops of Montana, according to this adjustment (from earlier estimates of about 70 million years). A thriving environment just prior to the impact was demonstrated by the team's identification of hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs, and the enormous sauropod Alamosaurus.
A Diverse World of Dinosaurs
The more recent dates highlight distinct dinosaur populations that inhabited various regions. Triceratops and flat-headed hadrosaurs are therefore found in the northern sites (Montana/Dakotas), whereas crested duckbills and giant sauropods are found at the southern sites (New Mexico). This geographic "provinciality" probably means that temperature variations, not a collapse of the same fauna over the whole region, were the cause."There is no indication that these dinosaurs were in any kind of trouble, that anything out of the ordinary was happening to them, or that they were in any kind of long-term decline," says paleontologist Steve Brusatte. According to these dates, dinosaurs "were not on their way out" before to the asteroid's impact, according to coauthor Andrew Flynn.
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