US EditionThese Lizards Mysteriously Survived the Asteroid Strike That Killed the Dinosaurs—and Their Descendants Are Still Alive Today
- Researchers revealed that night lizards from the family Xantusiidae survived the asteroid impact 66 million years ago near Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and still live there today.
- This survival occurred during the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction, which wiped out about 75% of Earth's species due to a 12-kilometer-wide asteroid strike.
- The night lizards probably endured the extinction event due to their small size, slow metabolism, ability to find shelter near the impact zone, and evidence showing their ancestors lived in the region throughout the time surrounding the event.
- Chase Brownstein suggested that these ancient lizards may have inhabited areas near the impact location, potentially even closer than their modern descendants, aligning with fossil and genetic data indicating their continuous presence in the region over time.
- Their persistence highlights adaptation's role, but habitat loss now threatens night lizards, which remain the only known land vertebrates endemic to that region since the asteroid collision.
13 Articles
13 Articles
These Tiny Night Lizards Survived the Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs
When a 7.5-mile-wide asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out nearly everything in its path, including about 75 percent of all species on the planet. But somehow, a group of tiny, slow-moving reptiles managed to survive the blast, despite living so close they could have seen it happen. According to a new study published in Biology Letters, night lizards—members of the family Xantusiidae—were living right around the Gulf of …
These Lizards Mysteriously Survived the Asteroid Strike That Killed the Dinosaurs—and Their Descendants Are Still Alive Today
Small and elusive night lizards probably persisted because they have slow metabolisms and like to hide out in rock crevices, a new study suggests
Night lizards survived dinosaur-killing asteroid strike, despite being close enough to see it happen
Mysterious night lizards survived the giant asteroid strike that ended the reign of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, despite living right next to the impact site in Mexico, a new study finds. Thanks to a new evolutionary analysis, researchers discovered that the little lizards, in the family Xantusiidae, were living around the Gulf of Mexico before and after the asteroid struck what is now Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. This makes night lizards …
NewScientist
Anti-Aging, Acupuncture and Health NewsEnigmatic lizards somehow survived near Chicxulub asteroid impact
The night lizards may have been the only terrestrial vertebrates that survived in the region of the asteroid impact 66 million years ago, which led to the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs
How did these night lizards survive one of the greatest massive extinctions in history? Probably thanks to their reclusive way of life that allowed them to survive to this day.
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