Dinosaur-Era Survivor: Ammonites Outlived Meteorite Impact, Then Vanished

• Ammonites, ancient spiral-shelled marine creatures, survived the meteorite impact that wiped out dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
• New research from fossils at Stevns Klint, Denmark, reveals Ammonites lived for 68,000 to 200,000 years post-impact into the Danian period.
• Previously thought to be immediate victims, they were 'dead clade walking,' weakened by long-term ecosystem stress.
• Factors like a weak plankton food chain, recovering predators, and low reproduction rates led to their eventual extinction.
• This discovery, published in Scientific Reports, reshapes theories on mass extinctions and ecosystem recovery.

Why It Matters: Ammonites defied immediate extinction post-meteorite, surviving for millennia before succumbing to long-term stress.