How Dinosaur Extinction Led to a World Full of Fruit

How Dinosaur Extinction Led to a World Full of Fruit

The cascade of changes that followed the extinction of the dinosaurs may have had one surprising effect: the evolution of a world teeming with fruit.

For millions of years, giant dinosaurs acted as ecosystem engineers, preventing the rise of fruit. When an asteroid wiped them out, forests grew dense and dark, forcing plants to evolve a new strategy for survival. They developed large seeds and fleshy coatings to attract animal allies, creating a fruity world that would eventually fuel the evolution of primates—and ultimately, us.

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