Some species in the Southern Hemisphere survived the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago because they were hibernating or buried underground to escape cold weather, researchers believe.
The Chicxulub asteroid hit what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico during springtime in the north, a catastrophic event that wiped out 76 per cent of all species including dinosaurs and ammonites, according to a new study in the journal Nature.
The timing of the strike had a profound effect on animal populations as the Northern Hemisphere was hit at a crucial period in the breeding cycle, researchers said.
Ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere, where it was autumn, recovered up to twice as fast compared with the north, where animals were on the surface foraging for food, reproducing and rearing their young.
Researchers believe that some birds and crocodile species in the Southern Hemisphere survived the impact of the 12-kilometre-wide asteroid and the resulting nuclear winter and were able to spread to other parts of the world.
“If you were on the surface when the meteorite strikes, you were likely to be killed,” said Melanie During, of Uppsala University in Sweden, one of the authors of the paper. “The reign of the dinosaurs ended in spring.”
The immediate impact of the meteorite strike was felt up to 3,500 kilometres away and included tsunamis and large-scale forest fires.
Slivers of molten rock were blasted into space by the impact of the asteroid before crystallising and raining back to Earth as deadly glassy bullets.
Researchers studied the remains of filter-feeding sturgeon and paddlefish in North Dakota, United States, that died within an hour of the asteroid strike after the shards clogged their gills during a river surge.
“This deposit literally looks like a car crash frozen in place. It looks like the most violent thing I have seen preserved in pristine conditions,” Ms During said.
Researchers from Sweden, the Netherlands, UK, France and Belgium used carbon dating and analysed bone growth patterns of the fish to conclude that the asteroid hit around April, when springtime temperatures were similar to today.
“To be able to fight the nuclear winter you first need to survive the actual impact,” Ms During said.
“If hibernating, that increased your chances. If you sealed yourself in a burrow or sheltered underwater, that could help you. Anybody in the Southern Hemisphere already sheltering had a much better chance of surviving.”
The mass extinction was likely to have unfolded over several thousand years, with rapid climate change triggered by the meteorite strike.
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Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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