Dinosaurs became extinct about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. This extinction marked the end of the reign of dinosaurs that had lasted for approximately 165 million years. The main cause commonly accepted by scientists is the impact of a massive asteroid, which created the Chicxulub crater near the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. This impact unleashed widespread devastation including fires, tsunamis, and a climate shift due to debris blocking sunlight, leading to the mass extinction of about 75% of Earth's species, including almost all dinosaurs except for the ancestors of modern birds.
