If you traveled 250 million years into the past,
you'd be witnessing the dawn of dinosaurs.
One of the leading theories is that dinosaurs
evolved from a species known as Arkansas's.
These were the dominant reptiles that appeared during the late
Permian period.
To some, they may even look like dinosaurs, and that's
because they were ancestors to these incredible creatures.
Over time, the Arkansas's split up into two groups.
One of these groups led to crocodiles
and the other led to dinosaurs, which continued
evolving into thousands of different species.
One of the main traits
they eventually gained was their bipedal abilities.
Early dinosaurs began to walk on two legs,
freeing their front limbs for other uses,
like grabbing food and defending themselves.
And that's just the start of their evolutionary journey.
Let's travel back in time 250 million years ago
and witness the history of dinosaurs in 10 minutes
Triassic period.
As you enter this new era, you'll notice that the dinosaurs
running around
look pretty different from what you're used to seeing.
One of the earliest dinosaurs that emerged from the Arkansas's
was the Eagle Raptor.
This little guy was about the size of a dog,
barely one meter tall
and weighing in at a meager ten kilograms.
You know,
we typically think of dinosaurs as these massive creatures, but
it'd be a couple of million
more years before that started to happen.
We'll check in to see how those dinosaurs
are growing in size as we travel through time.
But for now, let's see what's happening to Earth.
During the Triassic period, the supercontinent Pangea starts
to fragment, slowly altering global climates and ecosystems.
The climate
was generally hot and dry and there were no polar ice caps,
creating a stark contrast
to what you're typically used to in modern day earth.
The vegetation was also very different
and was crucial for the survival and evolution of dinosaurs.
The plants have different characteristics as well.
Some are tough,
some nutritious, and others potentially poisonous.
Each one of them will influence the dietary and adaptive
strategies of different dinosaur species.
Speaking of which,
what are some other dinosaurs doing during this time?
Weighing in at about 23 kilograms and one meter tall,
we have the seal of faces.
It was a little bit bigger than the Eagle Raptor,
but that didn't stop it from being a fast and agile
predator that likely preyed on smaller animals.
Now the HERERA source was slightly taller at about 1.1
meters, but was a lot heavier at about 350 kilograms.
Then we have the Palladio saurus.
Now this guy is way bigger than me.
It stood tall
at about three meters and weighed up to 4000 kilograms.
This was
one of the earliest examples of how big dinosaurs could grow.
But wait, they get even bigger than this.
Despite their impressive forms, dinosaurs weren't
the dominant creatures during the Triassic.
They had to share their environments
with many other organisms, all vying
for survival in the diverse ecosystems.
This was the case until the Triassic period
would experience a great extinction event.
This was likely caused by massive volcanic activity,
climate change and potentially even some small asteroid impacts.
This will have a significant effect on life on Earth
and lead to the extinction of numerous species.
But it wasn't all bad, especially for our dinosaurs.
This moment set the stage to bring new opportunities
to these species, leading to them dominating the Earth.
Jurassic period.
Now, instead of dinosaurs
simply surviving this is where they thrived.
Over the millions of years, different species have been
evolving and dinosaurs are now the rulers of the earth.
They spread across continents, dominating
the lush forests and arid deserts,
occupying these areas where some massive dinosaurs
ones that you're probably a lot more familiar with.
We have the Stegosaurus Brachiosaurus and allosaurus.
These were some of the largest creatures ever to walk the earth.
But you'd quickly notice that it wasn't
just these massive beasts that were roaming around.
This era also saw the evolution of Thera pods.
These were smaller dinosaurs that had more of a birdlike form.
One of the most famous was the Archaeopteryx.
It was kind of like a mix between a dinosaur and a bird
with feathers and wings, but also with bony teeth and a tail.
The Archaeopteryx was a
crucial link between birds and dinosaurs.
If you wait about 100 million more years,
they'll evolve into the birds we know today.
Wait, is that a spoiler?
After 56 million years,
the Jurassic period
comes to an end. This was after yet
another extinction event happened.
Luckily, this one is more minor.
However, due to climate change, volcanic activity and sea levels
changing, some species are going extinct.
This once again changes the landscape
as the dinosaurs enter their final era
Cretaceous period.
Okay, we've now entered the Cretaceous period,
and as we've been traveling through these millions of years,
you may have noticed something's missing, right?
One of the dinosaurs biggest stars hasn't appeared yet.
Say hello to the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The T-Rex was a massive beast,
was 3.7 meters tall and 12 meters long.
Not only that, but it was a whopping nine tons.
Equipped with a powerful jaw and incredibly sharp teeth.
The T-Rex dominated the Cretaceous Kingdom.
It was one of the most
dominant predators history has ever seen.
This colossal beast wasn't just scavenging leftovers.
It was an active hunter stalking its prey
with keen eyesight and a heightened sense of smell.
Among its favorite meals
were the sizable herbivores like the Edmund de Saurus.
But the T-Rex didn't stop there.
It would take on formidable opponents like the Triceratops
and even other smaller Thera pods if the opportunity arose.
With its powerful jaws filled with 12 inch teeth
and its strong hind limbs that allowed it
to run at speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour,
The T-Rex was a master of the hunt.
But this period wasn't
just filled with massive beasts like the T-Rex.
Look around and you'll also notice
even more feathered dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period.
One of them being the Velociraptor.
Now, you typically see them portrayed like this
with no feathers, but evidence suggests
that these creatures were quite feathered.
Now, the feathers weren't
necessarily used for flying more, for warmth and stability.
And this one is the micro raptor.
Now, unlike the Velociraptor, its feathers likely were used for
flight, giving us crucial insight into the evolution of birds.
Okay.
As I mentioned earlier, Pangea was breaking up
and forming into the continents we know today.
But because of this,
some dinosaurs were forced
to migrate and separate into different areas of the world.
These dinosaurs had to adapt to their new environments,
potentially changing the course of their evolution.
But none of this matters when we consider what happens next.
The cataclysmic event.
Okay.
As you've been hanging out
with the dinosaurs for millions of years,
an asteroid has been making its way toward Earth.
Then suddenly it hits,
creating a massive crater
150 kilometers wide and 20 kilometers deep.
Naturally, something this huge makes a devastating
impact on the world, one that'll change it forever.
The asteroid's collision is massive, but
its impact is felt long after the initial crash.
Due to the massive collision,
the environment drastically changes.
Significant drops in temperature start to occur and debris
from the crash begins to block out the sun.
This impacts not only the dinosaurs
health, but also their food supply.
This devastating event wipes out 75% of the earth species,
many of which are the dinosaurs.
We've been observing this whole time.
But don't worry, not all of the dinosaurs went extinct.
The aviation based dinosaurs we checked out earlier managed
to survive the asteroid strike, eventually evolving into birds
aftermath.
Now that most of the dinosaurs are extinct,
it's cleared the way for mammals to diversify
and expand their impact on the world.
With less competition, early mammals can now thrive
and take over, which slowly over time allowed humans to evolve.
Building the world we know today, dinosaurs
went on to evolve for another 165 million years.
But there's still so much we need to learn about them.
Like, did you know that not all dinosaurs were cold blooded?
Some of them may have been warm blooded or even both.
But that's a story for another.
WHAT IF.