If the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, never came, are they still around today?

[Anonymous]

If you believe they existed, and most people do, other than religious nutjobs.. if the asteroid never came and wiped em out, do you think they would still be around today, knowing how many mass extinctions there have already been

[Effably]

They are, in many ways. And would have had to adapt.

There have been basic changes to our world since then. CO2, Oxygen levels and alike have changed. Affecting plant life and us fleshier organisms alike. This is believed a major reason to explain their size. And just does not exist today.

Indeed in parts of history we as humans would not be able to survive even simpler things like breathing without significant trouble. For reference we have about 21% now. Dinosaurs primarily existed inam a 35% time. But much of it started down at 15% or so. At 35% us humans would likely experience oxygen toxicity, our lungs would begin failing and we'd slowly die out. At 15%, you'd feel constantly lightheaded and dizzy.

Similarly, dinosaurs in our era, while some might be able to adapt, would not be as clear cut as just being able to exist. Some might indeed just suffocate and perish right away. Not to even get started on modern diseases that might wipe them all out.

While the mega earthquakes caused by the asteroids were definitely a core catalyst, many dinosaurs survived 30 000 years after. Rather, it was the changes in climate, temperature and alike that probably put the nail in the coffin. Not to say the asteroids and literal earth shaking didn't wipe a bunch out. Of course on the flip side this might also mean that without these asteroids earth might not have been able to produce something like humans.

[AviatorTom]

Dinosaurs are still around today. They're called birds.

Livescience - Birds are Dinosaurs

[Anonymous]

It’s possible. Probably not as we see them today though; they’d have probably evolved to look a lot different, their extinction is why mammals were able to rise. And over vast amounts of time humans have managed to survive.


In order for dinosaurs to have survived they have to have an abundant supply of resources like food, water and shelter. Humans were able to expand the way we have through domestication of other animals and domestication of plants. Creating agriculture allowed specific species of plants to survive and thrive and gave humans a stable food source. The same went for domestication of animals from dogs to livestock. We were the first species to do that and that is what kept us from extinction with the other homo species.

[rachel776]

it depends on whether another mass extinction wold have gotten them. there are still dinosaurs today, some reptiles and some fish from tens of millions of years ago. and all birds are descended from dinosaurs. there were some mammals back then also, but very small, no sign of humans until millions of years later

[Astarlessnightsky]

Not in the way they existed back than.

They would have evolved into different kind of Dinosaurs.

[Anonymous]

The question is, would we exist? If dinosaurs never became extinct, would the evaluation of humans have been affected?

[jahaims]

Whether dinosaurs existed or not isn't a matter of belief. They factually existed.