Why did the dinosaurs go extinct while the mammals survived?

Around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, an asteroid struck the Earth, triggering a mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and some 75\% of all species. Somehow mammals survived, thrived, and became dominant across the planet.

Why did some animals go extinct while other animals survived?

Why do some species survive while others go extinct? When conditions change, some species possess adaptations that allow them to survive and reproduce, while others do not. If the environment changes slowly enough, species will sometimes evolve the necessary adaptations, over many generations.

Why did some dinosaurs survive?

Many scientists now suspect other factors were involved, from increased volcanic activity to a changing climate. Either way, some 70 percent of life on Earth perished, and an asteroid impact almost surely played a role. Scientists recently analyzed dinosaur bones found in the Ojo Alamo Sandstone in the San Juan Basin.

Why did the mammals survive the impact?

“It was the huge amount of thermal heat released by the meteor strike that was the main cause of theK/T extinction,” Graham explains, adding that underground burrows and aquatic environments protected small mammals from the brief but drastic rise in temperature.

Why did mammals survive the mass extinction of Earth?

The main reason they died out and other life forms, not just mammals, survived is their size. Long before the meteor crashed and caused mass extinction they were already dyeing out due to their food becoming rare. Mammals, on the other hand, were small and lived on much less food.

How did dinosaurs survive the Cretaceous mass extinction?

Once the heat was off, mammals could come back out and make the most of the remaining food resources. There may not have been enough food for dinosaurs, but the more generalized tastes of mammals allowed them to hang on. Yet the Cretaceous mass extinction is not quite so clear cut.

What other animals went extinct with the dinosaurs?

What other animals went extinct with the dinosaurs? At that point, as the Cretaceous period yielded to the Paleogene, it seems that all nonavian dinosaurs suddenly ceased to exist. Along with them went fearsome marine reptiles such as the mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, and plesiosaurs, as well as all the flying reptiles known as pterosaurs.

Why are dinosaurs no longer living?

Why are dinosaurs no longer living? The dust blocked sunlight, making the planet very cold and dark. Then, over time, the gases trapped heat, causing the Earth to get even hotter than it was before the asteroid hit. This change was deadly for most dinosaurs, and they became extinct.