A new study indicates that dinosaurs were already on the verge of extinction before the asteroid hit Earth and destroyed these giants that inhabited the planet.
The topic of dinosaurs is still talked about a lot, the interest of the public and scientists does not wane, despite the years. Not long ago, a new study questioned the killer asteroid theory and wondered if it wasn’t Guilty at the origin of the extinction of the dinosaurs. If you are wondering what it is The difference between the two, we took the time to explain it to you.
Even more surprisingly, a study dating back to 2020 claimed so Dinosaurs would have continued to thrive if it wasn’t for the asteroid that killed themContrary to the study that we tell you in this article, which confirms the opposite. So let’s try to understand.
Significant decline over the past 10 million years
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According to researchers who published their article in Nature ConnectionsThe diversity of dinosaur species was already declining for 10 million years before the asteroid impact. they studied 1,600 fossils from 247 species from 6 major dinosaur families and used this information to model diversity trends, shown world news.
Read also : The asteroid responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs hit Earth in the worst possible place
Fabien Condamine, a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research at the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences in Montpellier, explains: Futura Science That this retraction is not a search on their part but the evidence fell upon them: “We have identified the peak of diversity in dinosaurs الدين At least 10 million years before their extinction. Between this peak and the meteorite fall in the Yucatan Peninsula, we observed a marked decrease in species diversity.. We were looking to shed light on the diversification dynamics of dinosaurs before understanding what factors might have influenced them in the long run. We didn’t think of backing out. It just appeared to us in the data. “
Possible reasons for the decline of dinosaurs
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According to him, the planet was in a time of great change, and Vegetation evolved, and tectonic plates we are moving Temperatures It decreased significantly (about 7 degrees over a period of 10 million years).
There are many reasons to explain that the dinosaur species experienced a period of decline. Another possible reason: Diversity of species present. With so many different types to fit all niches, creating new ones becomes difficult or impossible, and there is no place for them: “With the group diversifying, there are fewer opportunities for a type to form because the major niches are full. The group finds fewer solutions to fill in new niches. Some kind of competition for resources. Go to the top, and why not, it leads to backtracking.”
The limits of the study
However, the researchers only looked at statistical data from 6 major families of dinosaurs. To get more convincing results, the search should be expanded.
In addition, the statistics are based on the data that can be found today, after tens of millions of years and there is a huge lack of sources for Europe, Africa and Asia in order to get a complete picture of the situation.
finally, “With knowledge that keeps accumulating, we are not immune to the various conclusions that fall within a few years. This is also science”Fabian Condamine concludes.
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