Fossil plants in Chile reveal details of Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction

A new study published in npj Palaeoecosystems reveals how microscopic fossil plant matter in Chilean Patagonia and Antarctica provides critical insights into the ecological collapse following the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction event.

Researchers from an interdisciplinary team in Chile and Brazil found that these microfossils serve as essential markers for reconstructing the devastation and subsequent reorganization of terrestrial ecosystems 66 million years ago. This period, triggered by an asteroid impact in the Yucatán Peninsula, resulted in the extinction of approximately 75 percent of Earth's species, including non-avian dinosaurs.