Did This Spiral Sea Creature Outlive the Dinosaurs?

While scientists long believed ammonites—spiral-shelled sea creatures related to squids and octopuses—died alongside dinosaurs 66 million years ago, new fossil evidence from Denmark suggests otherwise. Researchers analyzed ammonite fossils from a cliff site and discovered microscopic sponge spikes within the specimens that are characteristic of the post-extinction period, indicating these cephalopods survived the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. The findings support estimates that ammonites persisted for nearly 70,000 years after the mass extinction event.