Jakarta –
The success of snakes being able to survive millions of years on Earth did not escape the impact of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, according to a new study.
The impact of this giant asteroid impact causes destruction, which brings death to animals and plants.
But the researchers, say a handful of snake species have survived, survived periods of asteroid destruction by hiding underground, and through long periods without food.
This formidable cold-blooded animal then spread to all corners of the world, developing into more than 3,000 species today.
Most types of dinosaurs died out as a result of an asteroid hitting Earth about 66 million years ago, triggering earthquakes, tsunamis and forest fires. This was followed by a decade of darkness when clouds of ash blocked the sun.
It is estimated that about 76% of plants and animals became extinct. But snakes, like other mammals, birds, frogs, and fish, managed to survive.
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“In conditions of lack of food chains, snakes are able to survive and thrive, and these animals are able to occupy new continents, and interact with their environment in new ways,” said lead researcher Dr Catherine Klein who conducted the study. study at the University of Bath.
“Perhaps, without the impact of the asteroid, these animals would not be where they are today.”
When the asteroid hit Mexico, the snakes were the same shape as we know it today: legless with elastic jaws for swallowing prey.
The impact of the asteroid limited food supplies, boosting their ability to survive by fasting for more than a year, and hunting in the dark. This probably played a big role in their survival until now.
Several types of snakes that survive most of them live underground, or in forests, and fresh water.
With loose competition from other animals, they had the opportunity to disperse along different evolutionary paths, and around the world, occupying Asia for the first time.
Over time, snakes get bigger, more dispersed, occupy new habitats, and find new prey. New species are emerging, including giant sea snakes that can be more than 10 meters long.
The researchers used analysis of fossils, and genetics on different snakes to reconstruct the evolution of these reptiles. (Getty Images)
This research was published in Nature Communications, which shows life tracking of snakes that survived the impact of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
A variety of modern snakes – including tree snakes, sea snakes, poisonous vipers and cobras, and muscular snakes such as pythons and pythons – emerged after this mass extinction.
Such an event [ketika setengah dari semua spesies mati dalam waktu relatif singkat] only happened a few times in Earth’s history of travel.
The period immediately following the great extinction, evolution puts it in “the wildest and most innovative experimental period,” said Dr Nick Longrich of the Milner Center for Evolution at the University of Bath.
The study also found evidence of a second explosion of snake evolution around the period when the world’s climate changed from a warm “greenhouse earth” to a cooler climate, which formed polar ice caps, and started the Ice Age.
Snakes have amazingly managed to survive on Earth and can now be found on all continents except Antarctica. They live in most ecosystems, from oceans to deserts.
There are snakes that live underground, and live in trees. Their size also varies from a few centimeters to more than 6 meters.
Snakes are vital to the health of ecosystems, hunting prey and helping humans control pests. Due to conflicts with humans, many types of snakes are now threatened with extinction.
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(ita / ita)
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