How big were the animals that survived the extinction?
Age of the dinosaurs
Sixty-five million years ago the
dinosaurs died out, along with the
pterosaurs and the plesiosaurs. It
was a mass extinction, but what
was the cause? Many believe it
was the result of a meteorite.
What happened?
What changed?
Scientists now believe a massive meteorite
hit Earth, creating a dust cloud of noxious
fumes that screened out the Sun
and changed the climate.
Pterosaurs
, which
had
once filled the skies with
their airborne acrobatics.
Dinosaurs
, which
had
evolved into a huge
variety of types.
Huge reptiles
,
which disappeared
from the oceans.
It was a big one!
In the early 1990s, geologists found the
remains of a massive crater in Mexico. It was
180 km (112 miles) wide. They believe it was
caused by a meteorite smashing into Earth
65 million years ago.
Who died?
The extinction saw the
loss of huge numbers of
animals, including:
208
The rock would have hit
Earth’s crust with terrific
force, sending shock
waves around the world.
