Snakes widely diversified after the Chicxulub crater event that ended the dinosaurs reign. An interesting study shows that the extinction event allowed snakes to diversify, innovate, and thrive. Findings are reported in Nature Communications.
Snakes survived even though all other reptiles perished by moving underground. Their survival which researchers call "creative destruction" was the direct result of the destruction of other life forms.
Klein, C.G., Pisani, D., Field, D.J. et al. Evolution and dispersal of snakes across the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. Nat Commun 12, 5335 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25136-y
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