Paleontology questions

10 fact-checked questions — tap any to predict the answer, then read why.

• After K-Pg, some plankton populations crashed without bouncing back. Why can a species go extinct even with some survivors still alive?
• After K-Pg impact darkness, what did ocean recovery lean on before normal food webs?
• Why might larger diatoms outlive smaller chalky nannoplankton in K-Pg seas?
• K-Pg shelled plankton died off in days. Why does darkness explain it better than acid dissolving shells?
• Why could tropical plankton lose more than polar plankton after global impact darkness?
• In asteroid darkness, why did some algae survive by becoming less plant-like?
• Why did freshwater animals survive the K-Pg impact winter better than land animals?
• After the K-Pg impact darkened oceans, why did the tiniest plankton survive best?
• Why might a spinosaur's salt gland be located above its eye?
• Why do spinosaur skull grooves hint at salt glands?