The death of the dinosaurs: how were crocodiles able to survive after a giant meteorite hit the Earth?

65 million years ago, the planet of dinosaurs disappeared in an instant. When a monstrous roar and impact covered Mexico with a fiery wave, the world of dinosaurs that ruled the Earth for 150 million years came to an end. Those who survived the hundred-meter tsunamis and fires suffocated in a thick layer of volcanic ash, starved to death or froze to death over the next hundreds of years.

Survived small and cunning — mammals the size of a squirrel covered with fur. Birds covered with feathers. In the midst of a nuclear winter, total darkness and ash blizzards, they digested tiny food with their little stomachs. But in the freshwater rivers and lakes of the onset of the Cenozoic era, the mighty brothers of the dead dinosaurs survived.

Dinosaurs, pterosaurs and crocodiles are descended from the archosaurs, the “ruling lizards” of the late Permian and early Triassic periods, and crocodiles were the only ones among them survived the impact of a meteorite. Huge armored carcasses on massive paws looked with unblinking yellow eyes into the ashen sky and waited for dawn. Why did these huge lizards survive unlike others?

1. Lucky with a meteorite

If so of course you can say so. Striking the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico with a force of 5 million atomic bombs, the Yucatan meteorite stirred the ocean with waves of giant tsunamis and breaking the balance caused the death of marine dinosaurs and most fish.

A shockwave, volcanic ash rains and nuclear winters swept over the warm continents, exterminating land-based dinosaurs. But freshwater rivers, lakes and marshes are more fortunate than others. It was there that crocodiles lived.

2. Crocodiles developed slowly and were better prepared than others

Indeed, by the time of the catastrophe, the dinosaurs had a great variety of forms and species, dinosaurs evolved rapidly, they needed time to adapt to new changes.

And crocodiles did not change for 200 million years and crocodiles learned to use their low wide body on short legs by 100%, surviving in any catastrophe in the history of the Earth. After the impact of the meteorite, the low growth of crocodiles became an advantage.

Crocodiles grew slowly and dinosaurs grew quickly. This has become a disastrous weakness in the face of a nuclear winter. Just imagine a young tyrannosaur that suddenly grows up and is faced with the fact that in the darkness on an endless plain covered with ash, he needs to find 500 kilograms of meat instead of yesterday’s 100 kilograms!

The coolness of crocodiles has become the main trump card of survival. They don’t need to eat much and can hibernate when nuclear blizzards become too angry. In contrast, warm-blooded dinosaurs constantly needed food to maintain body temperature, drive blood and work the heart. Dinosaurs roamed dying continents in search of food and fell exhausted.

3. Crocodiles are smarter than dinosaurs
Scientists believe crocodiles are as smart as dogs. They can be tamed, taught in circus training, tricks and techniques. Crocodiles recognize their master and do not dismember him with monstrous throats. But mind alone was apparently not enough, because the late predatory dinosaurs “Velociraptors” lived in a flock and even talked with each other!

Crocodiles survived the disaster and continue to thrive throughout the world where they live. Maybe in thousands of years they will outlive us, create a new civilization of the Earth and fly to the stars?