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Scientists have uncovered what they believe is the first fossil linked to the catastrophic asteroid event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

They have described the dinosaur leg as "stunningly preserved" and it even has skin still attached to it.

The leg is among a group of remains that were found at the Tanis fossil site in North Dakota, in the US, and offers more insight into what happened when the dinosaur's reign ended 66 million years ago.

READ MORE: Thousands facing evacuation as major rain event sweeps NSW

The BBC reports very few dinosaur remains have been found in rocks that record even the final few thousand years before they were wiped out so these Tanis finds are something very special.

The BBC has spent the past three years filming at the Tanis site for a project with documentarian Sir David Attenborough.

Many of the specimens will be shown for the first time and among the other examples of well-preserved creatures from the moment the asteroid struck include a fish that breathed in impact debris, a turtle that was skewered by a wooden stake, skin from a horned triceratops and the embryo of a flying pterosaur still inside its egg.

While the main impact site of the 12km-wide asteroid is believed to located in the Gulf of Mexico, the Tanis site in North Dakota is roughly 3000 kilometres away – but why the remains are so well-preserved is a mystery.

The BBC believes the remains of animals and plants at Tanis seem to have been rolled together into a sediment dump from waves of river water set off by intense earth tremors – with ocean organisms mixed in with the land-based creatures.

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The scientists also believe they have sourced a fragment of the asteroid itself.

This is because sturgeon found at the Tanis site had breathed in spherules of molten rock emitted in the impact.

When scientists examined these spherules in the sturgeon gills, they found they were linked to the Mexico impact site and two examples that were encased in tree resin had tiny inclusions of extra-terrestrial origin.

LIVE UPDATES: More heavy rain, flooding for Sydney

"We were able to pull apart the chemistry and identify the composition of that material," the University of Manchester's Professor Phil Manning told the BBC.

"All the evidence, all of the chemical data, from that study suggests strongly that we're looking at a piece of the impactor; of the asteroid that ended it for the dinosaurs."

Australia's infamous 'creepy crawlies' are out in full force, seeking refuge from the relentless rain battering NSW – but experts are urging residents to have to no fear and remain calm as sightings are expected to increase.

Sam Herrmann, reptile keeper at The Australian Reptile Park said there is a definite increase in sightings of snakes and spiders across Sydney and that weather is to blame.

"Humidity is a huge player in a lot of those creepy crawlies or reptiles in general, coming out. They love humidity," said Mr Herrmann.

LIVE COVERAGE: MORE HEAVY RAIN, FLOODING FOR SYDNEY

"After rain, on those warmer days, they're going to be moving around a hell of a lot more."

One Sydney woman has handed in around six Funnel Web spiders to the Australian Reptile Park's anti-venom program over the past two months – a marker pointing to the massive increase in sightings according to Mr Herrmann.

"That is probably the biggest standout that I've seen," he said.

"We have had quite a few snakes brought into the park in the last couple of weeks.

"The flooding has definitely impacted where they're moving or where they're trying to escape," said Mr Herrmann.

While this news may come as alarming to some, experts say the best thing to do is remain cautious and calm.

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"Obviously, the animals aren't coming into your home to hurt you. There's no reason for them to do that," stressed Mr Herrmann.

Snakes and spiders would much prefer to be a fair distance away from people, according to the reptile maestro.

The Australian Reptile Park encourages and educates residents on how to safely catch and respectfully move, or donate the animal for venom milking.

EXPLAINED: When is it going to stop raining?

"We have 14 drop off points around the Greater Sydney region so that they can become a part of the milking program," Mr Herrmann said.

He maintains that one thing is paramount: "The main thing is safety."

"If you're unaware of what it is, maybe seek out for any information or Call someone that might know exactly what it is and then you can go from there and make a judgment call."

According to Mr Herrmann, the best thing you can be is prepared – and own a compression bandage.

"A compression bandage has a lot of rectangles all over it."

"All those rectangles tell you basically when you're tight, those rectangles turn into squares and that's the exact amount of tension that you'd want," he said.

If you don't have a compression bandage handy at the time – a nice firm grip will do while you call 000."

READ MORE: Sydneysiders share stories of leech deluge amid downpours

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The torrential rain in Sydney is continuing to provide the perfect conditions for blood-sucking leeches to infiltrate backyards and homes.

Sydneysiders have taken to social media to share their bloody horror stories of encounters with leeches this week.

Chloe Gale, from leafy Lane Cove, on Sydney's lower north shore, said there have been "a crazy amount" of leeches in her home lately.

But it was during the downpours in February that a leech provided one moment she would never forget.

She found her pet cat Bluey with a leech curled through its nose and down to its mouth.

A quick dab of salt and the leech dropped off, Ms Gale said.

"We literally have a container of salt in our living room ready, we've had so many leeches lately. The cat was fine."

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No-one, it seems, is safe from the parasitic worms – even residents in high-rise apartments.

Another Lane Cove resident, Jit Gill, was stunned to see a leech climbing up the outside of his window – on the 20th floor.  

"You know there is a major problem with all this rain in Sydney when the leeches are running for higher ground," Mr Gill quipped in a post on Facebook.

READ MORE: A month's worth of rain in Sydney in just 24 hours

Professor Dieter Hochuli, from Sydney University's School of Life and Environmental Science, said leeches were "perfectly set up for climbing".

"They've got suckers each end and essentially what they do is they inch their way up in that very simple inchworm kind of movement.

"You would hope that you would be a bit isolated if you're up on the 20th storey, but no."

'They're having a great time'

This year's deluge of rain had been the leeches' gain, Prof Hochuli said.

"They talk about it being good weather for ducks but it's been brilliant weather for leeches, snails and slugs," he said. 

"They're having a great time and thriving in the current climate.

"Leeches are a type of modified worm so one of their biggest dangers is drying out.

"This high humidity and rainfall has been great for them." 

READ MORE: Wet weather increases snake, spider sightings, experts warn

Leeches were opportunistic creatures, and could often be seen hanging around waiting for an animal or human just to pass by and provide them with the opportunity to latch on, Prof Hochuli said.

Once they have latched on, leeches release an anticoagulant to promote the flow of blood. 

They also produce a naturally-occurring anaesthetic, which explains why many people don't immediately notice if a leech is sucking on their blood, Prof Hochuli said.

"It is just a very clever way of ensuring that you don't notice it until it's had a decent feed," he said. 

There was some evidence to suggest leeches were able to track potential victims by sensing heat and carbon dioxide, he added.

"They have this capacity to hone in on body heat and carbon dioxide, it seems," Prof Hochuli said.

"So you'll be sitting on the couch and you'll see the leech actually inching its way towards you." 

EXPLAINED: When is it going to stop raining?

Can leeches harm you?

While getting a leech bite is not pleasant, all the evidence suggests the parasites are generally harmless to humans, Prof Hochuli said.

"There's been some work looking inside them and trying to work out if they're carrying pathogens, but they're not like mosquitoes or ticks where the bites are really tightly linked to health issues.

"The most common issue you might see from a leech bite is if it gets infected, then it can become a nasty kind of sore."

How do you remove a leech?

While some people prefer to use salt or vinegar to make a leech break contact with skin, Prof Hochuli said leeches could in most cases be simply flicked off without harm.

"If you've got decent fingernails you can just flick them off," he said.

"Even a credit card can work. If you sort of slide it just slightly underneath and then basically just you can just flick them away quite easily." 

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au

The Northern Territory coroner has referred the suspected death of Patrick Moriarty to the Director of Public Prosecutions, saying "he likely died in the context of the ongoing feud with his nearest neighbours".

It took coroner Greg Cavanagh just a couple of hours to hand down his findings in a case that has intrigued Australia.

Mr Moriarty, known as "Paddy", was a larrikin from the tiny outback town of Larrimah, 400 kilometres south of Darwin.

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The 70-year-old and his dog Kellie were last seen leaving the Pink Panther pub on December 16, 2017.

The town is small, with a population of about a dozen, but two locals who caught the eye of investigators were his neighbour Fran Hodgetts and her gardener Owen Laurie.

Ms Hodgetts and Mr Moriarty had a long-running dispute.

He told visitors to the town her pies were so bad his dog wouldn't eat them.

She told police he had poisoned her plants.

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Both Ms Hodgetts and Mr Laurie have denied any involvement in Mr Moriarty's disappearance.

In a sensational development yesterday, the inquest was played secret police recordings taken inside Mr Laurie's house.

"I killerated old Paddy … f—— killerated him," it is alleged Mr Laurie can be heard saying.

"I struck him on the f—— head and killerated him.

"Smacked him on the f—— nostrils with a claw hammer."

After the inquest findings were handed down, Northern Territory Police said it will keep the case into Mr Moriarty's disappearance open.

"This is a once-in-a-generation case. Paddy and his dog Kellie literally disappeared," a statement said.