Dinosaurs were in decline long before the asteroid struck that spelt their doom, new research suggests.
Dinosaurs were on the up and up from the late Triassic about 220m years ago, with new species arising faster than others went extinct. But the study reveals their fortunes had begun to change long before the catastrophic six-mile-wide asteroid hit what is now the Gulf of Mexico, 66m years ago.
The research, the authors believe, could resolve a longstanding controversy among palaeontologists.
https://www.theguardian.com/science...ong-before-asteroid-catastrophe-study-reveals
Paper: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/04/13/1521478113
Dinosaurs were on the up and up from the late Triassic about 220m years ago, with new species arising faster than others went extinct. But the study reveals their fortunes had begun to change long before the catastrophic six-mile-wide asteroid hit what is now the Gulf of Mexico, 66m years ago.
The research, the authors believe, could resolve a longstanding controversy among palaeontologists.
https://www.theguardian.com/science...ong-before-asteroid-catastrophe-study-reveals
Paper: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/04/13/1521478113