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Did Any Dinosaurs Survive?
All the dinosaurs were wiped out by a giant asteroid - or were they? Watch this video to find out, or read our explanation below!
The Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs
66.0 million years ago, an asteroid struck the Yucatan Peninsula and caused an explosion so massive that it wiped out 75% of life on the planet. Huge amounts of soot was sent into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of light making it down to Earth, killing lots of plants. The loss of plant life meant there was less food, so lots of animals didn’t have enough food to eat. Almost all of the dinosaurs died out - but a few survived.
Birds Are Dinosaurs
A small group of dinosaurs survived, and those dinosaurs are the ancestors of today’s birds! All modern-day birds can be correctly classified as dinosaurs. In fact, the chicken is the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Other Survivors
Dinosaurs weren’t the only animals around when the asteroid hit, and some other animals managed to survive as well. Crocodiles, small mammals, and some plants survived. With the end of the dinosaurs, small mammals were able to flourish, evolving over millions of years to become larger, eventually giving rise to humans.
Dinosaur Extinction Facts for Kids
Got dinosaur questions? We’ve got dinosaur answers!
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About 165 million years.
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It took about 30,000 years for life to flourish again after the asteroid impact.
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Besides birds, the triceratops survived the longest of any dinosaur, as far as the fossil record shows.
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Despite the imaginings of Jurassic Park, it's very unlikely that any dinosaur DNA has survived to the modern day, and none has been found so far. So unfortunately, re-creating dinosaurs is probably out of reach.
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Scientists estimate it was 10-15 kilometers long - almost as big as the island of Manhattan.
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Scientists estimate the asteroid was traveling at 12 miles per second - about 24 times faster than a bullet.
More Answers to Dinosaur Questions from Kids
Why were dinosaurs so big? What came before the dinosaurs? The Tappity Paleontology Library has interactive lessons with answers to those questions and more!
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