Lead author Joseph Flannery-Sutherland explains that fossils are often an unreliable source of information, misleading researchers to believe that ammonite diversity declined towards the end of their existence. To correct this, the team created a new database of Late Cretaceous ammonite fossils using museum collections to fill in gaps in the sample.
The analysis showed that ammonite speciation and extinction rates varied geographically and temporally, disproving the idea of long-term declines. “Their extinction was a fortuitous event, not a foregone conclusion,” said James Witts of the Natural History Museum in London.
Study co-author Dr Corinna Myers said changes in diversity were due to local conditions rather than global trends such as temperature changes.
Source: Ferra
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