These marine mollusks, distant relatives of today’s nautilus and octopus, were not just passive inhabitants of ancient oceans but were, in fact, apex predators and incredibly successful survivors. " Dust and soot ejected high into the atmosphere would have blocked sunlight for months, if not years, bringing photosynthesis to a grinding halt.
Ammonites Extinction Timeline: Understanding the Cretaceous Catastrophe
The most widely accepted cause is the impact of a massive asteroid or comet, approximately 10 to 15 kilometers in diameter, which struck the Earth near what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The impact would have vaporized sulfate-rich rocks, releasing massive quantities of sulfur dioxide into the air.
The impact would have unleashed an energy release far beyond any human-made explosion, hurling vast amounts of debris into the atmosphere and causing immediate, catastrophic devastation at the impact site. This strategy, while successful for dispersal, made them completely dependent on the health of the planktonic ecosystem, which was the first to collapse during the impact winter.
Ammonites Extinction Timeline During the Cretaceous K-Pg Event
These larvae were essentially planktonic, drifting with the currents and forming a crucial part of the marine plankton community. The Final Chapter: The K-Pg Extinction Event The leading scientific explanation for the ammonites’ demise points to the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event, formerly known as the K-T event.
More About Why did ammonites go extinct
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