Dinosaurs were thriving in North America before the mass-extinction asteroid strike, study suggests

By CHRISTINA LARSON, Associated Press

Scientists have long debated whether dinosaurs were in decline before an asteroid smacked the Earth 66 million years ago, causing mass extinction.

New research suggests dinosaur populations were still thriving in North America before the asteroid strike, but it’s only one piece of the global picture, independent experts say.

“Dinosaurs were quite diverse and now we know there were quite distinct communities” roaming around before being abruptly wiped out, said Daniel Peppe, a study co-author and paleontologist at Baylor University.

The latest evidence comes from analyzing a portion of the Kirtland Formation in northern New Mexico that’s been known for around 100 years to contain several interesting dinosaur fossils.

Scientists now say those fossil