New research challenges long-held theory about dinosaurs before asteroid hit

This image provided by the University of Chicago shows the scaly skin of a young mummified dinosaur found in Wyoming. - (Tyler Keillor/University of Chicago via AP)

New research indicates that dinosaur populations in North America were thriving just before the asteroid impact 66 million years ago, which triggered their mass extinction.

This finding offers a fresh perspective on the long-standing scientific debate over whether their numbers were already in decline. However, experts caution that this represents only one piece of the global ecological puzzle.