First dinosaur fossil found, which died on the same day due to asteroid impact

66 million years ago, an asteroid about 12 kilometers in diameter crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The severity of the incident is difficult to determine, although it appears to be enough to end the reign of the legendary dinosaur. Scientists recently revealed a well-preserved dinosaur leg, but that's not the surprising part: the creature would have died the same day a massive asteroid hit Earth, according to the BBC. . "It's crazy," said Philip Manning, professor of natural history at the University of Manchester. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today program, he said the tescelosaurus legs found at the Tanis site in North Dakota were "the best dinosaur legs." "The time resolution we can achieve at this site is beyond our wildest dreams...it really shouldn't exist, it's absolutely amazing. In my entire career I never dreamed I would see a) so limited in time; b) so beautiful and telling such a wonderful story." Everything we know about non-avian dinosaurs is based on fossils, including bones, teeth, footprints, tracks, eggs and skin impressions. Over the centuries, people all over the world have discovered amazing fossil bones and footprints. The first discovery inspired legends and fairy tales, as people imagined that the bones belonged to giants or giant monsters. The fossil in question was found at the Tanis site in North Dakota. And it is not alone, the finds include: a turtle strung on a wooden stake, the skin of a Triceratops, pterosaur embryos inside their eggs and possibly remains from the asteroid impact itself. Dinosaurs are the most popular when it comes to catastrophe, but along with them, three-quarters of all life on Earth was wiped out, including the terrifying marine and flying reptiles: mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and winged dragons. In general, all diversity is greatly reduced and life has to flourish after a disaster. Like the dinosaurs, pterosaurs are one of the greatest success stories in evolutionary history. They lived during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods 215 million years ago and reproduced for about 150 million years before becoming extinct.

2022-04-14T16:58:49+00:00
Duration: 03:35