"Surely not, he must be sorely mistaken!" I hear you ask!

That the ammonites died out 65 million years ago at the end of the Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous has never seriously been questioned. Now it appears that a few species Hoploscaphites actually soldiered on and survived into the Danian of the Paleocene in central Europe.

A new paper reveals in detail this astounding discovery:

http://app.pan.pl/acta50/app50-653.pdf

The paper is exceptionally detailed; if it appears too much in one go, try tackling just the Abstract and Summary.

I haven't read it yet, but I can't wait to. It wouldn't be the first time someone mistook reworked specimens, but I'll wait to read it to pass judgement.

Dan

200,000 years after the K-T (or K-Pg) boundary, an isolated population survived in the seas around Denmark. I guess it's possible. :shock:

Have to wait for this paper:
Machalski, M. and Heinberg, C. (in press). Evidence for ammonite survival
into the Danian (Paleogene) from the Cerithium Limestone at Stevns
Klint, Denmark. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark 52.

Anyone have access?

Thanks Phil !!! That made my day :grin:

200,000 years after the K-T (or K-Pg) boundary, an isolated population survived in the seas around Denmark. I guess it's possible. :shock:

I should have read a little closer, seems there are Scaphitids and Baculitids in a couple of areas :oops:

The Netherlands and Belgium.—...Scaphitid material from subunit IVf−7 at the very top of
the Meerssen Member is also included in the present work,
pending full description elsewhere. This subunit, tradition−
ally regarded to be uppermost Maastrichtian, has recently
been reassigned to the lowermost Danian, based on micro−
fossil and strontium isotope evidence (Smit and Brinkhuis
1996). According to Jagt et al. (2003), the scaphitid and
baculitid ammonites preserved in subunit IVf−7 are early
Danian survivors.

Denmark.—...Rare moulds of scaphitid and baculitid ammonites oc−
cur also in the Cerithium Limestone, which is the lowest
Danian carbonate unit at Stevns Klint. According to Machal−
ski and Heinberg (in press) these are the remains of Danian
ammonite survivors.

why not indeed ? too much is often assumed from scant little evidence by us humans, long live the ammonites !

Keef