A 66m-year-old murder mystery has finally been solved, researchers say, revealing an enormous asteroid struck the killer blow for the dinosaurs. The Cretaceous/Paleogene extinction event resulted in about 75% of plants and animals – including non-avian dinosaurs – being wiped out. However, others say volcanic activity in India’s Deccan region was the main driver, causing large-scale climate change. Volcanic eruptions have previously been found to have driven other mass extinctions, including the end-Permian mass extinction. Now researchers say they have unpicked the mystery by modelling the ecological effects of the different possibilities.

Source: The Guardian June 29, 2020 18:56 UTC