Jakarta –
About 66 million years ago, the dinosaurs that ruled Earth were wiped out by a large asteroid. However, not with crocodile who survived and have offspring until now. How come?
Launching SPACE, the explosion caused by the asteroid at that time was so large that it caused global earthquakes, tidal waves, forest fires and even toxic rain.
The asteroid also hit one of the rock spots which then exploded and threw a large amount of dust into the sky.
As a result, the dust blocked the sun for months and sent Earth into a long, dark and freezing winter.
Without sunlight, green plants die, followed by plant-eating animals that eat them to survive, and meat-eaters who eat plant-eaters.
Some Dinosaurs Survive
Scientists think three-quarters of all the different types (species) of animals on Earth were wiped out including most of the dinosaurs. But some managed to survive for various reasons.
An important group of dinosaurs sailed, aided by their ability to fly and find food in distant places.
Their fur protects them from the cold, and their beaks let them eat buried seeds found near dead plants.
Amazingly, the dinosaurs that survived are still alive today. Scientists call the offspring with birds.
Why Crocodiles Can Survive Asteroids
There are two main reasons why Crocodiles don’t go extinct like a dinosaur when an asteroid hit.
First, crocodiles can live very long without food. Second, they live where they are least affected when an asteroid hits Earth.
Crocodiles are one of the ‘unique’ animals that have survived an asteroid. That’s because they can’t fly to escape, don’t have fur to survive the cold, and don’t eat seeds to survive.
An important reason that can make a crocodile survive is that its body uses very little energy. They often lie down, breathe slowly and even have a very slow heart rate. This is how they can hold their breath underwater for more than an hour.
It can also make them go without food for months and sometimes more than a year. This will be especially helpful when food (like other animals) becomes hard to find after the asteroid hits.
Compared to dinosaurs, which were generally more active, so they needed more energy, especially meat eaters like Velociraptor. Without food, they will die quickly.
Not Only Crocodiles Survived Asteroids
Not only did crocodiles survive the threat of mass extinction due to asteroids, small mammals that lived near the end of the dinosaur age, also survived.
They are mostly small, like mice running around in dead leaf litter on the ground, eating insects and worms.
These little creatures do not rely on living green plants, but on dead leaves and bark that fall from trees, or are blown and swept from elsewhere.
So like crocodile, small mammals were able to survive asteroids in part because they were less dependent on living plants.
Watch Videos “South Sumatran Farmer Who Was Pruned By Crocodile Found Dead“
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