Dinosaurs disappeared earlier than believed

The extinction of dinosaurs began much earlier than the large meteorite impact 66 million years ago.

Scientists were always assumed that the major impact in Mexico 66 million years ago sealed the fate of the dinosaurs. The British say that the survival of the animals had long been in danger. They analyzed data from about a thousand species. Virtually all species already proved a time unable to maintain themselves. Herbivores, moreover, proved much stronger than carnivores. Hadrosauriërs and Ceratopsidae, which include living in what is now North America, survived remarkably long.

Why the dinosaurs became extinct precisely, the researchers still is not clear. They suspect that include volcanic eruptions and climate change had influence.

Researchers at Reading also found that a correlation existed between the emergence of new species and the height of the sea level. With the rise of the water level, land masses were separated and created new continents. In this new, isolated tracts of land were new kinds of dinosaurs.

The scientists have published their tremors in Proceedings, a publication of the US National Academy of Sciences.