What was here before dinosaurs

At the beginning of the age of dinosaurs during the Triassic Period, about million years ago , the continents were arranged together as a single supercontinent called Pangea. During the million years of dinosaur existence this supercontinent slowly broke apart.

Its pieces then spread across the Why did some dinosaurs grow so big? Paleontologists don't know for certain, but perhaps a large body size protected them from most predators, helped to regulate internal body temperature, or let them reach new sources of food some probably browsed treetops, as giraffes do today.

No modern animals except whales are even close in size to the largest dinosaurs; therefore, When did dinosaurs become extinct? Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period , after living on Earth for about million years.

If all of Earth time from the very beginning of the dinosaurs to today were compressed into days one calendar year , the dinosaurs appeared January 1 and became extinct the third week of September. What was Pangea? They all existed as a single continent called Pangea. Pangea first began to be torn apart when a three-pronged fissure grew between Africa, South America, and North Were dinosaurs warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Scientists have conflicting opinions on this subject.

Some paleontologists think that all dinosaurs were 'warm-blooded' in the same sense that modern birds and mammals are: that is, they had rapid metabolic rates. Other scientists think it unlikely that any dinosaur could have had a rapid metabolic rate.

Some scientists think that very big Did all the dinosaurs live together, and at the same time? Dinosaur communities were separated by both time and geography. Different dinosaur species lived during each of these three periods. For example, the Jurassic dinosaur Stegosaurus had already been extinct Can USGS photos of fossils be downloaded or viewed online?

Fossil photos can also be viewed as published plates within many online USGS publications. The best keywords for searches are author names, such as William Cobban, Norm Filter Total Items: Year Published: Divisions of geologic time Bookmark DescriptionThis bookmark presents information that is widely sought by educators and students. View Citation. A Christian Science Perspective. Monitor Movie Guide. Monitor Daily. Photo Galleries. About Us.

Get stories that empower and uplift daily. See our other FREE newsletters. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy. Select free newsletters: The Weekender. Today's Highlights. Christian Science Perspective. Courtesy of Michael Benton. The skeleton outline is based on close relatives from Russia, and known bones are shaded. Lower jaw of the Chinese pareiasaur Shihtienfenia, seen in external and internal views.

The deep jaw shows it had powerful jaw muscles, and the small leaf-shaped teeth show it fed on plants. Prehistoric cousins Fossils of the animal have been unearthed in various regions across the globe including Russia, South Africa, and China. Life in the late Permian "Despite being important, distinctive I would be unwilling to call them ugly members of land ecosystems before the age of dinosaurs, pareiasaurs are relatively poorly understood," Dr.

You've read of free articles. Subscribe to continue. Mark Sappenfield. Our work isn't possible without your support. Digital subscription includes: Unlimited access to CSMonitor. The Monitor Daily email. No advertising. They are not dinosaurs, but synapsids: a group defined by the single hole in the skull behind each eye where jaw muscles attach.

Mammals are synapsids too, so these creatures are more closely related to us than to dinosaurs. Sail-backed synapsids above , like the plant-eating Edaphosaurus on the right, are common. They can grow up to 3. The carnivorous Dimetrodon , at back left, is a little longer, reaching up to 4. The sails on these species may have heated and cooled the body. Skulking in the left foreground is the massive-skulled Ophiacodon.

These early synapsids are known as pelicosaurs. By the mid-Permian, pelicosaurs are being displaced by therapsids above. This group was becoming more mammal-like: their legs were positioned vertically under their body and they had three types of teeth — incisors, canines and molars.

Some were also thought to have fur and be warm- blooded. Thanks for dropping by for a quick hello! Essentially, researchers have found positive correlations between an increased atmospheric oxygen level and the metabolic rates and performance of an animal, which is thought to increase food intake, growth and survival.

A higher oxygen level could also increase an animal's ability to reproduce offspring. The result is, larger animals surviving and reproducing larger offspring. Over multiple generations, the animal, such as the Meganeura or Arthropleura mentioned in this Wonder, would be larger overall. We hope that helped explain a little about oxygen level and its relationship with growth. We hope you're inspired to investigate this topic further! We hope you enjoyed exploring a time before dinosaurs existed!

That's tough to answer, Ishmael and Alexander! We've read estimates between and unique species of dinosaurs, but it's difficult to say for sure since often the fossils that are discovered are fragmented and not complete skeletons. Thank you for hanging out with us in Wonderopolis! Dimetrodon was actually not a dinosaur, though it is often mistaken for one. In , palaeontologists found what may be the earliest known dinosaur called Nyasasaurus. It's somewhat unclear if Nyasasaurus is a true dinosaur or only a close relative because they haven't found enough fossilized bones just yet!

It's exciting to think about what palaeontologists will discover next! Thanks for hanging out in Wonderopolis! It's a great video, but we can't take credit for creating it, Joshua! They did an awesome job! Thanks for hanging out with us, Abbi M.!

Wow, Sierra! The T. Rex was a pretty cool dinosaur and is one of our favorites too!! We hope you'll embark on a Wonder Journey of your own to explore prehistoric animals further! And please, come back to share with all of us what you discover! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:.

Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. What was before dinosaurs? What do you call creatures that live on both the land and in the water? Which creatures lived during the Carboniferous period? Tags: See All Tags animals , archosaur , Arthropleura , biology , Dimetrodon , dinosaur , history , Meganeura , pelycosaur , science , therapsid , Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Wonder What's Next? Tomorrow's Wonder of the Day helps your meals taste even more delicious! Keep looking back into the past by checking out the following activities with a friend or family member: What's your favorite dinosaur?

Is it the huge, ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex? Or do you prefer the vicious Velociraptor? Perhaps a Stegosaurus is more to your liking! Jump online to check out the Dino Database to learn all about different types of dinosaurs. Can you write down three facts that you learned that you never knew before? Most kids can't get enough of dinosaurs. In fact, that goes for most adults, too!

Grab a friend or family member and check out Discovery Channel's amazing variety of Dinosaur Videos. Of course, these aren't videos of actual dinosaurs, but your imagination will certainly be sparked by what you see! Up for a challenge? Choose one of the prehistoric animals mentioned in today's Wonder of the Day and learn all you can about it. You might need some help from an adult friend or family member.

You'll likely find some interesting information online. Can you find any artists' renderings of what the animal might have looked like? Based upon descriptions of the animal, can you create your own drawing of it?

Have fun learning more about an animal that predated the dinosaurs! Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? Wonder Words humid modern terrible bizarre boomerang typical prehistoric salamander atmosphere Take the Wonder Word Challenge.

Join the Discussion. LIco Jan 31, Feb 3, Peyton Nov 21, I could've never lived back then knowing that there were spiders the size of CATS! Nov 23, Ryan Jan 16, Hi there. So I really loved this wonder and I want to recommend a game to those who love this article and other prehistoric creatures and stuff. ARK survival evolved is a game that really turned me into a nerd. The gameplay is like Minecraft but the graphics are like fortnite. It is fun.

Jan 22, Thanks for the suggestion, Ryan! Sounds interesting!