Scientists Look to Uncover , the Last Dinosaurs
to Roam the Earth , Before Asteroid Hit.
'Newsweek' recently reported on some of the last dinosaurs that were around when a gigantic asteroid
struck the Earth and caused a mass extinction event.
This event wiped out nearly three quarters of all plant and animal species on the planet, including non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs, as well as many birds and mammals.
The last Age of the Dinosaurs took place
near the end of the Cretaceous Period
at a time referred to as the Maastrichtian.
We mostly hear about the last dinosaurs
that were alive in North America, because
some of the best and only rocks we've
discovered for this moment in time
are in Montana and the Dakotas. , Ashley Poust, Paleontologist from the San Diego
Natural History Museum, via 'Newsweek'.
That's only a very small bit of what
was likely a huge, unknown diversity
of 'last dinosaurs' across the globe, Ashley Poust, Paleontologist from the San Diego
Natural History Museum, via 'Newsweek'.
Two of the most famous dinosaur species
alive during the Maastrichtian were
the Triceratops and the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Remains of these well-known dino species
were found alongside a number of other
dinosaurs in the Hell Creek Formation. .
The heavily armored plant-eater, Ankylosaurus, the thick-skulled
plant-eater, Pachycephalosaurus, and the bird-like
"Chicken from Hell," Anzu, were also among the final dinosaurs.
The heavily armored plant-eater, Ankylosaurus, the thick-skulled
plant-eater, Pachycephalosaurus, and the bird-like
"Chicken from Hell," Anzu, were also among the final dinosaurs.
The heavily armored plant-eater, Ankylosaurus, the thick-skulled
plant-eater, Pachycephalosaurus, and the bird-like
"Chicken from Hell," Anzu, were also among the final dinosaurs.
These would've been some of the
very last non-avian dinosaurs on Earth;
most or all were probably in existence
when that giant asteroid fell out of the sky
66 million years ago and caused
massive environmental disturbances, Matthew Lamanna, Palaeontologist from the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, via 'Newsweek'.
'Newsweek' reports that scientists also know that dinosaurs existed in Mongolia, Madagascar and
Antarctica around the time of the mass extinction event.
