Dinosaurs might have escaped extinction if the massive, prehistoric astroid strike that killed them had occurred at an earlier or later point in time, according to new research by a Baylor geologist working with an international team of scientists.

Dr. Daniel Peppe, an assistant professor of geology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Scientists, was part of a team of experts from the United States, Canada and Great Britain who found that the six-mile-wide astroid that wiped out the dinosaurs occurred at a time when the huge creatures were already facing disruptions in their food chain due to sea level changes, volcanic activity and temperature variations. These changes in the period leading up to the astroid strike left dinosaurs especially vulnerable to the tsunamis, earthquakes and other events caused by the astroid.

The study, published in the journal Biological Reviews, has been covered by a number of major news outlets.  Click the links below to read more about this research.

• Baylor Media Communications Press Release, “Dinosaurs fell victim to perfect storm of events, study shows”
• BBC News, “‘Bad luck’ ensured that asteroid impact wiped out dinosaurs”
• CBS News, “How dinosaurs could have survived killer astroid” (video)
• Forbes Tech, “The (atrocious) luck of the dinosaurs”
• The Guardian, “Asteroid’s ‘bad timing’ killed off dinosaurs, new evidence shows”
• Los Angeles Times Science Now, “If asteroid’s timing had been different, dinosaurs might still exist”
• National Geographic, “Asteroid timing erased the dinosaurs?”
• Nature, “Dinosaur-killing asteroid hit at just the wrong time”
• The Register, “Asteroid’s DINO KILLING SPREE just bad luck – boffins”
• Time, “What killed the dinosaurs? Bad luck, study suggests” (video)