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Asked by hamza123 to Austin, Kirsty, Nike on 21 Jun 2012.
Question: what was the last dinosore alive
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Nike Dattani answered on 21 Jun 2012:
Very nice question !
Since we were not there, we do not know which exact dinosaur was last to die, but most scientists believe that a meteor hit Earth and wiped out ALL living dinosaurs that were on Earth at the time. So that includes all dinosaurs of various different species: triceratops, T-Rex, brontosaurus, etc..You can learn more here! http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4511/last-dinosaur-supports-asteroid-extinction-theory
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Kirsty Ross answered on 22 Jun 2012:
Technically, all birds are types of dinosaurs. Birds evolved from dinosaurs, and according to modern systems of classification (cladistics) are therefore classified as a type of dinosaur. So the answer, is the birds – they are still alive today.
As far as non-avian dinosaurs are concerned, they went extinct 65 million years ago. Lots of dinosaur species (and many other animals) died out at the same time – and nobody is sure why, though an asteroid impact in the Yucatan peninsula in modern day Mexico is the leading hypothesis. Some of the last dinosaur species that we have found fossils for were Achelosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus and Agujaceratops. It is possible that some dinosaurs survived for longer than these, but without fossil evidence it is impossible to tell when the very last dinosaur passed away.
Comments
Austin commented on :
Worth saying that you can see dinosaurs’ descendants all around you, according to the current theories of where birds came from! – see e.g. here
Kirsty commented on :
Glad to see you are still here and contributing! It is much appreciated =)
Austin commented on :
Cheers, Kirsty. As a childhood dinosaur freak, just couldn’t let a dinosaur question go by uncommented…!
PS My kids (8 and nearly 4) are both into dinosaurs. What is it about kids and scary giant prehistoric creatures??!
Kirsty commented on :
I loved dinosaurs too as a kid. I collected that magazine that allowed you to build a wooden t rex skeleton. Just spoke to the mods and we are free to comment on other questions in other zones if we want, as well as over the next two weeks. If we are gluttons for punishment that is =)
Austin commented on :
Left another evolution-themed comment over here earlier today. I left a few in other zones earlier, partly because they had more questions relating to medical science-y stuff that I actually know something about (!).