How dinosaurs died out: new research by scientists
![How dinosaurs died out](https://i.sspdaily.com/news/2024/3/16/p09p7m2y.jpg?size=355x198)
Around 66 million years ago, dinosaurs went extinct en masse, presumably as a result of a huge asteroid impact. However, scientists are still trying to figure out how it happened and under what circumstances.
This was reported by SSPDaily.
In a new study, scientists have discovered fossils of Abelisaurus, a distant relative of Tyrannosaurus from North Africa. After studying them, scientists now suggest that African dinosaurs probably died in the "prime of their lives," and their deaths occurred suddenly, as a result of a giant asteroid impact.
Scientists have focused on studying dinosaur fossils discovered in Morocco. The findings suggest that the African dinosaur fauna hints that dinosaurs thrived and even diversified in low latitudes. If this is true, it confirms that the ancient predators died out in their prime. In addition, it is assumed that they died out quickly as a result of a catastrophe, rather than dying gradually due to climate change on Earth.
As a reminder, in a new study, scientists measured the temperature of the Chicxulub crater immediately after the asteroid killed the dinosaurs.
The results of the study show that the temperature of the stones taken from the crater reached 330°C at the end of the Cretaceous period, 145-66 million years ago. The results also suggest that the asteroid impact did not release as much carbon dioxide as previously thought.