10. May 2024 at 07:00

Gecko that survived dino disaster found by Slovak-led team

New species lived in vastly different world.

Matúš Beňo

Editorial

Slovak palaentologist Andrej Čerňanský. Slovak palaentologist Andrej Čerňanský. (source: Archive of A. Č.)
Font size: A - | A +

Approximately 66 million years ago three quarters of the earth’s plant and animal species were wiped out. Widely accepted to be the result of an asteroid impact with our planet, mammals, birds, lizards and, perhaps the most well-known victims of the event, non-avian dinosaurs, were killed in the catastrophe.

SkryťTurn off ads
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

But a recent fossil find suggests that among those that survived the devastation was a previously unknown species of geckos, an animal most usually associated with its ability to climb vertical surfaces and move across ceilings.

The fossil was found in south-west France in 2023 by an international team that included Slovak palaeontologist Andrej Čerňanský from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava.

He talked to the Slovak Spectator about the discovery.

Slovak paleontologist names reptiles after important historical figures
Related article
Slovak paleontologist names reptiles after important historical figures

To stay up to date with what scientists in Slovakia or Slovak scientists around the world are doing, subscribe to the Slovak Science newsletter, which will be sent to readers free of charge four times a year.

SkryťTurn off ads

Surprising find

The fossil is approximately 50 million years old and dates back to the Palaeogene era which ran from 66 million years ago to 23 million years ago. This period is also known as the older Tertiary.

Earth at the time was a vastly different place.

"The global climate was very warm, the warmest in the last 200 million years. On most continents, the forests were similar to those of South America now. Palm trees grew in Antarctica, and in what is today Canada, far beyond the Arctic Circle, alligators and turtles lived. There was no ice at the poles, so the ocean level was higher. Europe was an archipelago and many areas were covered by the sea," says Čerňanský.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription -  Sign in

Subscription provides you with:

  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk

  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)

  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you

  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

SkryťClose ad