The Asteroid That Killed Dinosaurs Also Annihilated Marine Animals In Antarctica

First Posted: May 30, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

A new study reveals that the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago also exterminated many marine animals in Antarctica. This has been revealed based on the marine fossils that the researchers discovered.

The study, which gives more insight into one of the greatest mass extinctions on the planet, was published in the journal of Nature Communications. The scientists from the British Antarctic Survey on Seymour Island in the Antarctic Peninsula and the University of Leeds have determined the age of over 6,000 marine fossils. They analyzed the marine fossils for six years. The marine creatures died around 65 to 69 million years ago---this is the time a violent asteroid struck the Earth, according to CNN.

Fossils reveal dinosaur-killing asteroid affected Antarctic creatures, too. https://t.co/YX6J2xzpAq pic.twitter.com/G18ybQJL2w

— CNN (@CNN) May 28, 2016

The marine fossils include species ranging from clams and snails to big creatures like the carnivorous lizard Mosasaurus, which one of the monstrous creatures that was starred in the 2015 "Jurassic World." The marine fossils that were collected by the researchers are the largest that ever be discovered anywhere in the world, according to the University of Leeds.

Fossils reveal dinosaur-killing asteroid affected Antarctic creatures too https://t.co/wVmIDG8gaU — mistermjfarley (@mistermjfarley) May 29, 2016

James Witts, Ph.D., the lead author of the study said that their research basically shows that one day everything was fine---the Antarctic had an increasing and various marine communities. He is referring to a very sudden and catastrophic occurrence on the planet, according to Tech Times.

Witts added that this is the strongest evidence from fossils that the main driver of this extermination event was the after-effects of a huge asteroid impact. It was not the slower decline caused by natural changes to the climate or by harsh volcanism stressing global environments.