Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Life dinosaur probably already started to degrade about 10 million years before the meteor strike which has been strongly suspected of causing its extinction. This conclusion comes from new research published in the journal Nature on Tuesday (29/6).
This study evaluated data from the fossils of 1,600 dinosaurs found on Earth to illustrate how many species of certain types of carnivores and herbivores existed in the late Cretaceous era.
Experts later found that the extinction of the species began 76 million years ago.
The Chicxulub meteor that hit an area called the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico about 66 million years ago is thought to be the main cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene era extinction. When that happens, it is estimated that a third of life on Earth has disappeared, including dinosaurs.
Senior researcher Fabien Condamine of the University of Montpellier’s Institute of Evolutionary Science said his team traced the extinction of six dinosaur families consisting of nearly 250 different species.
“We had a peak of diversity about 76 million years ago. Then there was the extinction that lasted for 10 million years – that’s more than the entire duration of the genus Homo,” he told AFP, reported Tuesday (29/6).
The study found two explanations for the cause of this, derived from the fossil record and computer estimates.
One explanation is that the extinction of the dinosaurs was related to a decline in global climate about 75 million years ago. At that time the temperature dropped to eight degrees Celsius.
Condamine says dinosaurs have adapted to climate mesothermal, warm and humid, which has lasted for tens of millions of years throughout their time on Earth.
“With a strong drop in temperature, just like other large animals, they may not be able to adapt,” he said.
The explanation of the second cause of extinction is related to the difference in time of impact on herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs. herbivores are likely to experience a faster extinction time two million years before carnivores.
“So the extinction of herbivores, which are prey, then affects the extinction of carnivores,” Condamine said.
The study concludes that global climate change and reduced herbivore diversity caused the slow extinction of the dinosaurs. But it is also said that various species cannot recover after a meteor strike.
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