* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Monday, June 30, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

    Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

    Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

    Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Emerging Memory and Storage Technology Market Analysis Report 2025-2034 | AI and HPC Boom Fuels Surging Demand for Fast, Low-Power Memory Devices – Yahoo Finance

    How AI and HPC Are Driving Explosive Growth in Fast, Low-Power Memory Technologies Through 2034

    Ostin Technology (OST): Volatility’s Warning or Contrarian Opportunity? – AInvest

    Ostin Technology (OST): Navigating Market Volatility – Red Flag or Hidden Opportunity?

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

    Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

    Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

    Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Emerging Memory and Storage Technology Market Analysis Report 2025-2034 | AI and HPC Boom Fuels Surging Demand for Fast, Low-Power Memory Devices – Yahoo Finance

    How AI and HPC Are Driving Explosive Growth in Fast, Low-Power Memory Technologies Through 2034

    Ostin Technology (OST): Volatility’s Warning or Contrarian Opportunity? – AInvest

    Ostin Technology (OST): Navigating Market Volatility – Red Flag or Hidden Opportunity?

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    St. Francis Medical Center brings advanced robotic surgery technology to Northeast Louisiana – KNOE

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

How Did Some Animals Survive the Asteroid that Killed the Dinosaurs?

January 15, 2024
in Science
How Did Some Animals Survive the Asteroid that Killed the Dinosaurs?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When a 6-mile-wide asteroid struck Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period some 66 million years ago, it wiped out the majority of living organisms. Many victims were instantly fried by fires or drowned in tsunamis. The rest, meanwhile, succumbed to hostile conditions and the gradual collapse of entire ecosystems. In the end, about three-quarters of all species were swept into oblivion.

Yet many also survived and, eventually, repopulated the planet. Every living thing today is descended from the resourceful (or lucky) few who found ways to eke out an existence in that apocalyptic landscape. But how did those organisms persist long enough to see the world through to better days?

Which Animals Were Able to Survive the Asteroid Impact?

The challenge to life was immediate — within minutes of the impact, a global pulse of thermal radiation raised Earth’s surface to lethal temperatures. Marine species were safely insulated, but the survival of land-dwellers demands explanation.

In 2004, a University of Colorado Boulder researcher named Douglas Robertson and his colleagues introduced the sheltering hypothesis: The animals with the best shot at lasting through those initial hours were the ones who could escape to cooler environments. From crocodiles and lizards to birds and mammals, as Robertson put it in a later paper, “all the surviving species were plausibly able to take shelter from heat and fire underground or in water.”

In addition to the radiation, fossil evidence suggests the asteroid also flung tons of molten rock into the atmosphere. There, it hardened into deadly glass shards which then fell back to Earth, shredding any animals stranded in the open.

This first hurdle rewarded specific characteristics, namely small bodies and a burrowing or semi-aquatic lifestyle. Dinosaurs, for the most part, didn’t fit the bill, and many experts believe the vast majority died before the end of that cataclysmic day.

Read More: The End of the Dinosaurs: What Was the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction?

What Challenges Did the Survivors Face?

As for the survivors, their trials were far from over, and shelter was no guarantee of long-term security. As soon as they emerged, they had to confront a land ravaged by wildfires — and soon to be shrouded by “impact winter” as a result of dust, soot and other atmospheric particles blocking the sun. The world’s forests had been reduced to ash, and they wouldn’t be growing back soon.

With photosynthesis on hiatus, animals that depended on living plant matter were in for a bad time. Without plants, the herbivores starved; without herbivores, the carnivores starved. Specialized diets were a great idea when the getting was good, but became a liability when primary producers — plants and other microorganisms, like algea and certain kinds of bacteria, that get their energy from sunlight — stopped producing.

That left the unfussy insectivores, scavengers and seed-eaters to pick up whatever scraps they could find and carry on as vegetation slowly returned. University of Wisconsin paleontologist Peter Sheehan writes in Geology that because their food chains were based on detritus rather than living biomass, “there was a food supply adequate for the interval when photosynthesis was halted.”

Read More: Flowering Plants Survived The Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid

What Came After the Dinosaurs?

The big post-extinction story is the sudden rise of mammals. When the asteroid struck, it deposited a thin layer or iridium around the globe: Below that layer, fossils show that dinosaurs were Earth’s undisputed rulers; above it they disappear, leaving a few unimposing, shrew-like creatures to take charge.

The traditional, simplified explanation is that dinosaurs held their would-be competitors at bay by filling all the major ecological niches. While the top dogs were still kicking, mammals were forced to remain diminutive and unspecialized .(Today, these critters are described by some scientists and journalists as rat-like creatures “scurrying in the shadows.”)

In reality, several mammalian lineages flourished throughout the dinosaur age, growing to medium size and acquiring all sorts of novel diets and behaviors. An extinct group of rodent-like animals called multituberculates was particularly prosperous, as were the forebears of modern marsupials.

Read More: Did a Dust Plume Kill the Dinosaurs?

What Were the Eutherians?

A group of organisms called eutherians (our direct ancestors) were indeed archetypal scurriers, subjugated by more dominant powers. But that turned out alright for them in the end — not only did they eventually get the chance to proliferate into the 6,000 diverse placental mammals we see today, but it’s likely they survived because of their abilities to live in the shadow of the dinosaurs.

As generalized creatures low on the totem pole, eutherians were primed for disaster. They hid until the coast was clear, then got by eating whatever they could. Even their slightness played to their advantage: Besides not needing many calories, small-bodied species typically have shorter gestation periods and reach sexual maturation faster, allowing them to quickly replenish their numbers.

In the aftermath, writes University of Edinburgh paleontologist Steve Brusatte, “these plucky survivors forged a new world.”

Read More: Mammals Diversified Much More Rapidly 66 Million Years Ago

Why Did Some Animals Survive While Others Were Wiped Out?

In the end, however, it’s hard to know why certain animals survived and others perished. Extinctions are often described, aptly, as the greatest mysteries of all time — it’s nearly impossible to determine what killed who, and why (not to mention why it didn’t kill everything else).

Even the best theories come with conundrums. Why did crocodiles fare better than mosasaurus, both being aquatic carnivores? Why didn’t a single one of the small, omnivorous non-avian dinosaurs make it out alive?

In many cases, survival may have been no more than a matter of chance. It’s possible some branches of the animal kingdom endured to the present simply because a pocket of their late-Cretaceous representatives, for whatever reason, lucked out with uniquely tolerable circumstances while the rest of the planet withered. For all we know, that’s the only reason we’re here today.

Read More: Two Asteroids May Have Wiped Out The Dinosaurs

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Discover Magazine – https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-did-some-animals-survive-the-asteroid-that-killed-the-dinosaurs

Tags: animalsscienceSurvive
Previous Post

The Megalosaurus: When Was the First Dinosaur Discovered?

Next Post

Colorado’s new wolves are alive and well, but state officials face transparency concerns about releases

New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

June 30, 2025
Atlanta Dream Dealt Concerning Loss During Liberty Game – Yahoo Sports

Atlanta Dream Faces Crushing Defeat in Thrilling Liberty Clash

June 30, 2025
More than 1,800 National Science Foundation workers abruptly kicked out of agency headquarters – Space

Over 1,800 National Science Foundation Employees Suddenly Evicted from Agency Headquarters

June 30, 2025
Scientists Retrace 30,000-Year-Old Sea Voyage, in a Hollowed-Out Log – The New York Times

Scientists Successfully Recreate Epic 30,000-Year-Old Sea Voyage in a Hollowed-Out Log

June 30, 2025
Tom Brady Ditches Sneakers Lifestyle For Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sánchez’s Wedding – Yahoo

Tom Brady Swaps Sneakers Lifestyle for Glamorous Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Wedding Celebration

June 30, 2025
Chivu Confirms France Star Fit For Inter Milan Vs Fluminense Club World Cup Clash – Yahoo Sports

Chivu Confirms France Star Ready for Inter Milan’s Club World Cup Showdown Against Fluminense

June 30, 2025
Trump’s tariffs damage the US economy more if they drive investors away from American assets – Peterson Institute for International Economics

How Trump’s Tariffs Could Backfire by Driving Investors Away from American Assets

June 30, 2025
Surprising New Study Links Daytime Napping to Hidden Health Risks – Prevention

Surprising New Research Uncovers Hidden Health Risks of Daytime Napping

June 30, 2025
The 1975’s Matty Healy Says ‘We Don’t Need More Politics’ at Glastonbury – Variety

The 1975’s Matty Healy Declares “We Don’t Need More Politics” at Glastonbury

June 30, 2025
Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

June 29, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (700)
  • Economy (724)
  • Entertainment (21,613)
  • General (15,630)
  • Health (9,763)
  • Lifestyle (729)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (725)
  • Politics (730)
  • Science (15,941)
  • Sports (21,221)
  • Technology (15,709)
  • World (704)

Recent News

New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

June 30, 2025
Atlanta Dream Dealt Concerning Loss During Liberty Game – Yahoo Sports

Atlanta Dream Faces Crushing Defeat in Thrilling Liberty Clash

June 30, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version