Revisit Dinosaurs

Have you ever imagined, what lived before humans that ruled the world? Well, most of us know this but 65 Million years ago large reptiles called dinosaurs used to rule the world. They were not directly before us. But they came to an end. Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for more than 175 Million years. Dinosaurs had lived in three eras - Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. These periods make the Mesozoic Era. There are 4 eras in Earth's history - Precambrian (4.6 Billion - 541 Million years ago), Paleozoic (541 Million - 251 Million years ago), Mesozoic (251 - 65 Million years ago), Cenozoic (65 Million years ago to present day). We will discuss these eras in another blog.

 There were 2500 species of Dinosaurs in the Mesozoic Era. They varied from all sizes, colours, masses, abilities etc. 

1.  Triassic Era – Triassic Era was the first period in the age of the dinosaurs. The Triassic Era was after an event called the Great Dying. The Great Dying ended the Permian period which we will discuss in another blog. Nothing much to tell about the periods except for the timeline and temperature as well as examples of dinosaurs. The Triassic period lasted from 250 Million years to 200 Million years. The temperatures were very hot. The average temperature was 40 C while some places had temperatures reaching 50 to 60 degree Celsius. Some famous dinosaurs of the Triassic period were Carnotaurus and Velociraptors.

2.  Jurassic Period – The Jurassic period lasted after the Triassic period. This period lasted from 200 Million years to 145 Million years ago. The Jurassic Period marks the most important event in the history of the Earth. Before the continents were created, they were 1 supercontinent called Pangaea. Pangaea got divided into Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Later onwards these two continents broke into our present day seven continents. This event was caused by a massive earthquake with a scale billions of times larger than the largest earthquake recorded by humans. The climate cooled down in the Jurassic period which increased the vegetation. Popular dinosaurs of this era were Brontosaurus, Torvosaurus etc.

3.  Cretaceous Period – The Cretaceous period was the last period of the dinosaurs. This period lasted from 145 Million years to 65 Million years ago. This period saw increase in temperature and many new species of reptiles were introduced. This period marks a sad ending to these beautiful magnificent giants. There are many theories regarding the extinction of dinosaurs. This period saw the king of dinosaurs, the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Various theories are –

1.       Asteroid Collision – It is believed that a massive asteroid with a diameter of 11 to 15 km collided on a Mexican beach. This asteroid collision destroyed 98% of the Earth’s population. This theory is the most possible theory.

2.       Super Volcano Eruption – It is believed that a massive volcano eruption wiped out the dinosaur population with its smoke and ashes. The dinosaurs on inhaling the ashes got a disease called pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis (the longest word in English).

3. Mammal arrival – 60 Million years ago the reproductive rate of mammals highly increased. The mammals to survive, started feeding on the dinosaur eggs and ended the age of the dinosaurs.

    What would have happened if the Dinosaurs never died? Well they couldn't have gone very far, as the Ice age would have killed all of them because Dinosaurs were only adapted to live in very hot climate and they didn't have any fur to warm them up.

Fun Facts –

1. Argentinosaurus was the largest and heaviest dinosaur to have ever existed. They were about 30 m long and 50 – 100 tons in weight. After birth, an Argentinosaurus child’s mass increases by 40 kg/day everyday. Imagine😮😮!!

2. The largest carnivore dinosaur was Spinosaurus. This dinosaur shockingly was a powerful predator not only on the land but the water as well. This dinosaur measured 18 metres in length.

3.  The smallest dinosaur was Compsognathus. This dinosaur measured short of 1 metre.

4.  The four main types of dinosaurs based on their eating habits are Sauropods (Herbivores) - Argentinosaurus, Theropods (Carnivores) - Spinosaurus, Omnnitheropods (Omnivores), the fourth type of dinosaur is the flying type. The flying dinosaurs couldn't be classified on the basis of their eating habits.

5. The infamous T-rex has evolved into something that you won’t believe, not birds, not lizards but a chicken, a chicken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😁😁.

6. A dinosaur called Diplodocus had a very powerful tail. This tail swung at a speed of 700 mph. Alas, they never used it because Herbivore dinosaurs had a brain the size of a pea. They couldn't ever defend themselves.

 Well this marks the end of this new article, hopefully you liked it. Do support this article by tweeting or reposting this article on your social media handles.