Dinosaur Files

How did crocs, tortoises and sharks survive the dinosaur extinction?

Were they just perfectly developed, as is evident in the fact they've remained largely uncahnged for so long? How could they survive when so many other species (including most of the other sea-borne dinosaurs) died? What would have eaten, and wouldn't the air and water have been poisoned if hit by a large meteor? Cheers!

Public Comments

1. Luck, they were hiding!
2. under ground, and under the sea
3. They must have hid under a large rock.
4. Unfortunately, we may never really know. However, some scientists suspect it's because they were more flexible with their diet. The herbivorous dinosaurs were only able to eat conifers and ferns and when the asteroid hit and the ash blocked out the sun, all these sorts of plants died. Sharks, turtles/tortoises, and crocodiles were able to eat a wider variety of foods that may have still been available and are also capable of going long periods of time without eating which would have definitely been to their advantage at that time. Although these are all large animals and prehistoric versions of them were even bigger than modern day reptiles and sharks, they were still quite a bit smaller than the large sauropod and meat-eating dinosaurs and so didn't need to eat nearly as much. Some of the largest sauropod dinosaurs had to eat over a ton of vegetation a day to feed their massive bodies, that amount of food was just not available after the asteroid hit. It's just one theory out of many of course, but it makes sense to me. Hope that helps.
5. The crocs and sharks were tough sea predators and were lucky not to go out with the others,but I am notsure about the tortoises.
6. I would guess that their survival - like ours - is related to adaptation. Darwin, incidentally, never said "survival of the fittest" but rather theorized "survival of the most adaptive". It wasn't the size of the meteorite that extinguished the dinosaurs, but rather the subsequent black clouds which blocked out the sun. Cold-blooded creatures like sharks, tortoises and crocodiles probably don't need sunshine and were safe as long as they remained underwater. Also, only a few of them would have had to survive and propagate.
7. I believe God took them out. I don't believe in this the world is millions of years old crap. If the dino's lived so long ago why aren't they deep underground? The bible has a answer for every question.