Shocking finding! Ancestors of humans survived asteroid strike that killed dinosaurs

A mass extinction srudy provides startling information about our ancestors surviving the asteroid strike 66 million years ago that brought about the extinction of dinosaurs.

Latest finding on asteroid strike that caused mass dinosaur extinction. (Pixabay)

There are various studies which show that an asteroid strike on the Earth caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs. While that was a fact, there was a lot of speculation about whether human ancestors were present during the age of dinosaurs or whetherthey came well after the catastrophic event. A recent study has made a shocking suggestion.

According to the study by researchers from University of Bristol in the UK and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, human ancestors such as dogs, bats, and humans co-existed during the Cretaceous era alongside the dinosaurs.

The fossil studies of mammals show that they existed 66 million years ago. The molecular data shows that the mammals are older than the Cretaceous Paleogene (K-PG), which also proves that dinosaurs and placental mammals co-existed!

Findings on placental mammals' existence before mass extinction

The study which was published in the journal Current Biology. clearly shows that the placental mammals existed before mass extinction although the modern lineage of mammals started evolving after the mass event.

As per the research conclusion, there is approximately a 21.3% chance that 380 placental mammal families co-existed during the dinosaur's age.

The mammal families comprised the ancestors of mammals, dogs and cats, rabbits, and hares. Furthermore, the study agreed with prior molecular data, indicating that placental mammals have mostly similar ancient origins.

During the study, thousands of fossils of placental mammals were examined to find the pattern of their origin and extinction which researchers to find out when the families actually started to evolve.

This statistical research will also help scientists in further classification of fossil digitization and organism classification and this will help solidify the claims that are being made.

"By examining both origins and extinctions, we can more clearly see the impact of events such as the K-Pg mass extinction or the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)," says University of Bristol paleobiologist Phil Donoghue.

According to NASA, the asteroid had hit the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. It is called the Chicxulub impact crater. Scientists believe the crater was formed by an asteroid. It led to a major biological catastrophe where more than 50 percent of the Earth's species, including the dinosaurs, became extinct.