Scientists have discovered why turtles survived the dinosaur extinction event

It's about events that happened about 66 million years ago.

Details

The study found that turtles that fed on hard prey - such as clams and snails - were significantly more likely to survive.

Scientists estimated that such species were more than five times more likely to survive a catastrophe than turtles with a different diet.

The reason is that their food was more resistant to the effects of the asteroid impact.

After the impact, Earth faced a drastic cooling and darkening of the atmosphere - conditions that caused plants to disappear en masse. This hit the entire food chain.

Herbivores began to die out for lack of food, followed by predators.

At the same time, molluscs and other organisms that feed on detritus proved more resilient and were able to survive.

Turtles, which depended on such prey, were in a more favourable position.

Why it matters

The study shows that diet can play a key role in species survival.

Scientists note:

• the sustainability of food affects the sustainability of a species
• narrow specialisation can help as well as hurt
• ecosystems change unevenly after disasters

This helps to better understand the mechanisms of survival in global crises.

Background

The mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary wiped out about 75% of all species on Earth, including dinosaurs.

However, some groups, including turtles, survived the period with minimal losses.

Source

The study is based on analysing the diet of different turtle species at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and comparing their survival rates. The material is published in Biology Letters (2026).