News > Sharks' Diversity Remained Static When End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction Wiped Out Dinosaurs

Sharks' Diversity Remained Static When End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction Wiped Out Dinosaurs

Some 65 million years ago, a 10-km-wide asteroid crashed into Earth near what is today Mexico. It triggered a mass extinction. Nearly 75 percent of life— including non-avian dinosaurs and large marine reptiles— was wiped out. But what happened to sharks? The marine predators survived.

A new study has now attempted to shed some light on their evolution during the catastrophic event. Shark diversity remained constant across the extinction event.