Humans DID live with dinosaurs, scientists say

Our ancestors mingled with dinosaurs shortly before they went extinct, according to a new study.

Debate has long raged among researchers about when placental mammals — the group that includes humans, dogs and bats — first emerged.

Some believe they co-existed with the dinosaurs before an asteroid hit Earth and caused catastrophic destruction, while others argue they didn’t evolve until after the dinosaurs were wiped out.

Now, an in-depth analysis of the fossil record finally provides the answer: that our ancestors lived alongside dinosaurs for a short time before the reptiles became extinct.

So far, fossils of placental mammals have only been found in rocks younger than 66 million years old, when the asteroid hit Earth.

The colossal event wiped out all dinosaurs except birds and other smaller animals such as lizards and frogs.

In a new paper published in the journal Current Biology, a team of paleobiologists used statistical analysis of the fossil record to determine that placental mammals arose before the mass extinction, meaning they coexisted with dinosaurs for a short time.

Primates, the group that includes the human lineage, as well as Lagomorpha – rabbits and hares – and Carnivora – dogs and cats – were found to have evolved just before the mass extinction, meaning our ancestors mixed with dinosaurs.

After surviving the asteroid impact, placental mammals diversified rapidly, perhaps spurred on by the dinosaurs’ loss of competition, the researchers said.

Lead author Emily Carlisle from Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences said: ‘We collected thousands of fossils of placental mammals and were able to see the patterns of emergence and extinction of the different groups.

So far, fossils of placental mammals have only been found in rocks younger than 66 million years old, when the asteroid hit Earth (artist’s impression)

‘Based on this, we were able to estimate when placental mammals evolved.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know what our placental mammal ancestors looked like at the time.

“Many of the earliest fossils of placental mammals are quite small creatures like Purgatorius – an early ancestor of primates – a small burrowing creature that looked a bit like a tree shrew.

“So it’s likely that many of our ancestors were short and squirrel-like.”

Co-author Daniele Silvestro, from the University of Friborg, explained: ‘The model we used estimates the ages of formation based on when lineages first appear in the fossil record and the pattern of species diversity over time for the lineage.’

KILLING THE DINOSAURS: HOW A CITY-SIZED ASTEROID DISTRIBUTED 75 PERCENT OF ALL ANIMALS AND PLANT SPECIES

About 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out, wiping out more than half of all species on Earth.

This mass extinction paved the way for the emergence of mammals and the appearance of humans.

The asteroid Chicxulub is often cited as a possible cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.

The asteroid slammed into a shallow sea in what is now the Gulf of Mexico.

The impact released a huge cloud of dust and soot that caused global climate change and wiped out 75 percent of all animal and plant species.

Researchers argue that the soot needed for such a global catastrophe could only have come from a direct impact on rocks in shallow waters around Mexico, which are particularly rich in hydrocarbons.

Within 10 hours of the impact, a massive tsunami swept through the Gulf Coast, experts believe.

About 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out, wiping out more than half of all species on Earth. The asteroid Chicxulub is often cited as a possible cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (stock image)

This caused earthquakes and landslides in areas as far as Argentina.

While investigating the event, researchers found small particles of rock and other debris that were shot into the air when the asteroid crashed.

Called spherules, these tiny particles covered the planet in a thick layer of soot.

Experts explain that the loss of light from the sun caused a complete collapse of the water system.

This is because the phytoplankton base of almost all aquatic food chains would have been eliminated.

It is believed that the more than 180 million years of evolution that brought the world to the point of the Cretaceous Period was destroyed in less than the lifespan of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which is about 20 to 30 years.