Dinosaur Files

Dinosaurs - did they survive the meteorite?

How can it be the dinosaurs were all killed off by the impact of a meteorite hitting the the earth - yet birds are their mutated descendants? The dead dinosaurs must have left behind living issue to mutate eventually into bird life, so not all the ds were killed. How did the M wipe out adult dinosaurs but not the young?

Public Comments

1. I know of 1 dinosaur M didn't wipe out that's my mother inlaw she's still here.
2. Nobody said that only the young dinosaurs survived. Rather that not all the species of dinosaurs died out. Those species that may have survived MAY have evolved into birds. Besides, nothing is as clear-cut as you presume.
3. A meterorite strike isn't the only theory suggested for the extinction of dinosaurs: "Scientists theorize that the K–T extinctions were caused by one or more catastrophic events such as massive asteroid impacts or increased volcanic activity. Several impact craters and massive volcanic activity in the Deccan traps have been dated to the approximate time of the extinction event. These geological events may have reduced sunlight and hindered photosynthesis, leading to a massive disruption in Earth's ecology. Other researchers believe the extinction was more gradual, resulting from slower changes in sea level or climate."
4. Not all the dinosaurs were made extinct. Some smaller species of dinosaur survived - and it is them that are hypothesised to have evolved into modern birds. And evolution doesn't work quite as you describe. It's not that the young are left, and they "mutate" into birds. It's that some populations are left and - over time - those populations gradually evolve into birds. Evolution doesn't happen to one individual (unless you are a Pokemon), and it doesn't happen quickly.
5. not only did the dinos survive, but also the mammals, who were present before the age of dinosaurs. in both cases the "survivor" species had the ability to adapt to something that had changed in the environment. modern mammals and modern birds have the DNA of their predecessors incorporated in current species, but have adapted their appearance to be more suited to todays conditions.
6. The thing is, whatever event it wast(meteorite, deccan traps, botjh) did not instantly wipeout dinosaurs. Rather, there was climate change which the large dinosaurs were not adapted to so in time they became extinct, loosing out to other species by natural selection. Lots of relevant examples in the other answers
7. I think it was the change in the atmosphere that caused the extinction, such as blocking the sun killed of most plant life. So the extinction didn`t happen overnight, it was a drawn out process.
8. Some did