蜜芽传媒

Scientists have found fossils they think originate from the very day a massive asteroid smashed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

The discovery was made at the Tanis fossil site in North Dakota, US. The find is remarkable as some of the fossils are in exceptional condition, such as a dinosaur's leg with "beautifully preserved" skin.

Very few dinosaur remains have been found in the rocks that record even the final few thousand years before the impact.

Phil Manning is professor of natural history at the University of Manchester in the north of England and is supervising the PhD student who's leading the dig in North Dakota. Prof Manning describes the scene as it must have been that day, the devastation of the asteroid strike, and how the animals were transformed into fossils.

Picture: Fossilised dinosaur skeleton. Credit: Andrew Holt / Getty Images