Using these tools, the team was able to map the number of species of sharks and rays across 145 million years. In doing so, they created the most detailed long‑term picture of their evolutionary history to date. The researchers made four discoveries. First, species numbers comparable to modern levels were already reached during the Cretaceous period, more than 100 million years ago. Second, the asteroid impact caused a decline of only 10 percent in these species.

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Source: Astronomy.com Curated by SERA on 2/5/2026