Modern snakes ‘evolved from a few survivors of dinosaur-killing asteroid’

Researchers say the devastating extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous was a form of creative destruction that allowed snakes to diversify into new niches, previously filled by their competitors
Modern snakes ‘evolved from a few survivors of dinosaur-killing asteroid’
Modern snakes evolved from a few survivors of dinosaur-killing asteroid – study. (Peter Byrne/PA)

All living snakes evolved from a handful of species that survived the giant asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, a study suggests.

Researchers say the devastating extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous was a form of creative destruction that allowed snakes to diversify into new niches, previously filled by their competitors.

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