荷兰阿姆斯特丹自由大学Melanie A. D. During等研究人员发现，中生代终止于北方的春天。2022年2月23日，《自然》杂志在线发表了这项成果。
通过研究在中生代结束时死亡的鱼类，研究人员证明了导致白垩纪-早第三纪大灭绝的撞击发生在北方的春天。骨骼组织学和来自塔尼斯撞击引起的海蚀沉积物异常保存的鲟形目鱼类的软骨和真皮骨骼的稳定同位素记录，显示了白垩纪最后几年的年度周期性。年度生活周期，包括繁殖、摄食、冬眠和冬眠的季节性时间和持续时间，在最新的白垩纪生物类群中差异很大。研究人员推测，希克苏鲁伯撞击的时间是对白垩纪-早第三纪界限上生物选择性生存的一个主要影响。
据悉，大约6600万年前的白垩纪-早第三纪大灭绝是由希克苏鲁伯小行星撞击今天的尤卡坦半岛引发的。这一事件造成了高度选择性的灭绝，消灭了大约76%的物种，包括所有的非鸟类恐龙、翼龙、菊石、厚壳类和大多数海洋爬行动物。对撞击的时间及其后果的研究主要是在千年的时间尺度上进行的，而对撞击的季节则不清楚。
附：英文原文
Title: The Mesozoic terminated in boreal spring
Author: During, Melanie A. D., Smit, Jan, Voeten, Dennis F. A. E., Berruyer, Camille, Tafforeau, Paul, Sanchez, Sophie, Stein, Koen H. W., Verdegaal-Warmerdam, Suzan J. A., van der Lubbe, Jeroen H. J. L.
Issue&Volume: 2022-02-23
Abstract: The Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction around 66 million years ago was triggered by the Chicxulub asteroid impact on the present-day Yucatán Peninsula1,2. This event caused the highly selective extinction that eliminated about 76% of species3,4, including all non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ammonites, rudists and most marine reptiles. The timing of the impact and its aftermath have been studied mainly on millennial timescales, leaving the season of the impact unconstrained. Here, by studying fishes that died on the day the Mesozoic era ended, we demonstrate that the impact that caused the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction took place during boreal spring. Osteohistology together with stable isotope records of exceptionally preserved perichondral and dermal bones in acipenseriform fishes from the Tanis impact-induced seiche deposits5 reveal annual cyclicity across the final years of the Cretaceous period. Annual life cycles, including seasonal timing and duration of reproduction, feeding, hibernation and aestivation, vary strongly across latest Cretaceous biotic clades. We postulate that the timing of the Chicxulub impact in boreal spring and austral autumn was a major influence on selective biotic survival across the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04446-1
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04446-1
Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
官方网址：http://www.nature.com/
投稿链接：http://www.nature.com/authors/submit_manuscript.html
本期文章：《自然》：Online/在线发表
