The Last 24 Hours of Dinosaurs: What Really Happened to Dinosaurs?
About 100 million years ago, Earth was a very different place. It was ruled by dinosaurs, the largest animals to ever live. They were bigger than most buildings, and their powerful jaws could break bones in an instant. Dinosaurs were the most dangerous creatures on Earth.
Dinosaurs lived on Earth for over 170 million years. But then, one day, something happened that wiped them out forever. What caused this sudden disappearance? Let’s start at the beginning to find out.
In 1677, a large bone was found by a man who thought it belonged to a giant human from ancient times. He didn’t know that this bone would change how we see the past. Then, in 1819, a fossil hunter in England discovered a giant bone buried deep in the ground. After studying it for five years, the bone was named “dinosaur,” which means “terrible lizard” in Greek. This discovery led to thousands of fossils being found all over the world, revealing more than 900 types of dinosaurs.
Today, scientists discover over 45 new species of dinosaurs every year. In 2021, some unique dinosaurs were found, like the Stegosaurus Allingesson, which had a blade-like tail. Scientists believe the first dinosaurs appeared around 230 to 240 million years ago. Back then, all the continents were joined together in one massive supercontinent called Pangaea. This time is known as the Triassic period, and it was when the first small dinosaurs, about 2 to 4 feet tall, began to appear. Over time, these small dinosaurs evolved into much bigger and more fearsome creatures.
Around 201 million years ago, the Triassic period ended, and the Jurassic period began. During this time, new and larger types of dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Some, like the Archaeopteryx, could even fly and were around 3 to 4 feet long.
The Jurassic period eventually ended, and the Cretaceous period began. This period, from 145 to 66 million years ago, was filled with even more types of dinosaurs, like the raptors, armored dinosaurs, and the giant Titanosaurus, which weighed up to 77 tons. The famous T-Rex, known for its powerful bite, also appeared during this time.
Some dinosaurs, like the Ornithomimids, could run up to 90 kilometers per hour. Others, like the Quetzalcoatlus, were giant flying reptiles that stood 36 feet tall and weighed about 300 to 350 kilograms.
During the Cretaceous period, the Earth was calm, and new dinosaurs kept appearing. But 66 million years ago, something terrible happened.
One day, a huge asteroid, 10 to 15 kilometers wide, crashed into Earth at a speed 150 times faster than a jet plane. It hit the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico with a force a billion times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The impact instantly raised the Earth’s temperature to 1,200 degrees Celsius, causing massive fires and turning the ground to ash. Shockwaves spread out, starting fires that burned for thousands of kilometers. Only the smallest animals survived.
This marked the end of the Cretaceous period and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. After ruling Earth for millions of years, dinosaurs disappeared, making way for new life to thrive.
The story of dinosaurs reminds us how quickly things can change on our planet.
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