How deep sea creatures survived asteroid hit

​New York: When a 110-km wide asteroid struck the Earth some 65 million years ago and wiped out dinosaurs, a “trickle of food” helped deep sea creatures survive the catastrophic asteroid strike, researchers have revealed.

Like dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles, invertebrates and microscopic organisms became extinct after the asteroid impact in an immense upheaval of the world's oceans, yet deep sea creatures managed to survive.

This has puzzled researchers as it is widely believed that the asteroid impact cut off the food supply in the oceans by destroying free-floating algae and bacteria.

Now, a team led by Cardiff University provides strong evidence suggesting that some forms of algae and bacteria were actually living in the aftermath of the asteroid disaster.

These acted as a constant, sinking and slow trickle of food for creatures living near the seafloor. The global catastrophe that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also devastated ocean ecosystems. Giant marine reptiles met their end as did various types of invertebrates such as the iconic ammonites.