Buried Oklahoma Crater May Be Linked to One of Earth’s Biggest Mass Extinctions

An ancient meteorite crater buried beneath the town of Ames in the US state of Oklahoma may be connected to one of the largest mass extinction events in Earth’s history, according to a new study.

The research suggests the crater formed about 370 million years ago, roughly 100 million years earlier than scientists had previously believed.

That revised timeline is central to the possible connection. By placing the impact much further back in Earth’s past, the study links its estimated age to a period of catastrophic losses in global biodiversity.

The proposed connection remains tentative. A similarity in timing does not, on its own, establish that the meteorite impact caused or contributed to the extinction.

The findings nevertheless give the buried crater renewed significance, raising questions about its possible role in a major turning point in the history of life on Earth.