An asteroid doomed the dinosaurs. But did it drive tuna evolution?

An asteroid doomed the dinosaurs. But did it drive tuna evolution?

A new Yale study reveals that tunas evolved their signature size, speed, and warm-bloodedness gradually over 50 million years rather than in rapid response to the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs.

Yale Study Finds Tuna Evolution Occurred Independently of Asteroid Impact

A new study led by Yale University researchers challenges the long-standing theory that the asteroid impact 66 million years ago directly triggered the rapid evolution of tuna-like predators. While previous scientific consensus suggested that the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and large marine reptiles created an ecological vacuum that allowed fast, warm-blooded fish to thrive, the

Asteroid impact may have reshaped tuna evolution alongside dinosaur

A long-standing idea proposed that the 66-million-year-ago asteroid impact that ended non-avian dinosaurs—along with many large marine predators—opened an ecological space for the rapid rise of tuna-like hunters. In this scenario, surviving seas were quickly refilled by fast, warm-blooded fishes that evolved to occupy predatory roles left vacant by the catastrophe. However, a new Yale-led study challenges the simplest version of that story. By r…