Why did sharks survive when dinosaurs didn t?

Why did sharks survive when dinosaurs didn t?

Having a skeleton made of lightweight cartilage allows sharks to conserve energy and swim long distances. Because shark skeletons are made of soft cartilage, which doesn’t fossilize well, most of what scientists know about ancient sharks comes from teeth, scales and fin spine fossils.

Did sharks survive the dinosaur extinction?

While much of life became extinct during the End-Cretaceous extinction event, including all non-avian dinosaurs, sharks once again persisted. But they were still affected. Fossil teeth show that the asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous killed off many of the largest species of shark.

Why did dinosaurs die but not crocodiles?

Crocodiles survived the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs thanks to their ‘versatile’ and ‘efficient’ body shape, that allowed them to cope with the enormous environmental changes triggered by the impact, according to new research. Crocodiles can thrive in or out of water and live in complete darkness.

Why did the dinosaurs only die?

The exact nature of this catastrophic event is still open to scientific debate. Evidence suggests an asteroid impact was the main culprit. Volcanic eruptions that caused large-scale climate change may also have been involved, together with more gradual changes to Earth’s climate that happened over millions of years.

What animals survived the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?

Birds: Birds are the only dinosaurs to survive the mass extinction event 65 million years ago. Frogs & Salamanders: These seemingly delicate amphibians survived the extinction that wiped out larger animals. Lizards: These reptiles, distant relatives of dinosaurs, survived the extinction.

How did sharks survive the mass extinction of the dinosaurs?

Sharks are some of the ocean’s top predators. In fact, sharks and their relatives were the first vertebrate predators on Earth. Shark fossils date back more than 400 million years – that means sharks managed to outlive the dinosaurs, survive mass extinctions, and continue to serve an important role near the top of underwater food chains.

Why did crocodiles and sharks not go extinct?

The asteroid impact and associted volcanic eruptions of the period created conditions that wiped out a lot of the planet’s life, including dino’s, reptiles, amphibians, fish, many crocs and sharks, etc. The decendants of the dinosaurs that didn’t die are called “birds”, and, so forth. SOME survived, and, their decendants are what we see today.

How many years did it take for the dinosaurs to die?

The Mesozoic era brought forth more than 180 million years of dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. About 50 percent of the planet’s animal and plant life survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction, also known as the K/T boundary.

When did the Great Dying of sharks end?

Called the Great Dying, this era marked the end of the Permian Period and the beginning of the Triassic. (That Triassic Period is when dinosaurs would eventually emerge.) The survivor sharks did eventually die out, but not until at least 120 million years after the Great Dying.