Dinosaurs : Rulers of the Prehistoric World

Written by: Paige Leal

Before the existence of cities, humans and even mammals, there were the Dinosaurs that ruled the earth. Around 230 million years is when the dinosaurs appeared during the Triassic period. History shows dinosaurs lasting  on earth around 163 million years.  This prehistoric world was ruled by plant eaters and hunters, all of different shapes and sizes. 

Dinosaurs 

There are hundreds of species of dinosaurs that walked our planet many years ago. The species continued to grow and change as dinosaurs evolved. Some were plant eaters, many were meat eaters, some necks reaching to the treetops, others sharp teeth predators. During Pangea, the event that had the continents moving apart, dinosaurs had to learn to change and adapt to their new environments. 

Types of Dinosaurs 

There are said to be around 700 non-avian dinosaurs, which are the ones that went extinct. It would be too many to describe all of them, so here are three popular dinosaurs. 

Brachiosaurus - A dinosaur that could grow taller than a four story building, the giraffe of dinosaurs. It was alive during the Jurassic period and could weigh more than 28 tons. Its long neck and legs allowed its head to reach up to the trees and get its dinner, the leaves. The Brachiosaurus was a plant eater. 

Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-rex) - This is the typical dinosaur people think of when they think of dinosaurs. It lived during the Cretaceous period, at around 40 feet long with teeth the size of bananas. The T-rex was majorly feared because its bite was one of the strongest ever. The T-rex had tiny arms but was still a powerful predator, very smart with its sharp teeth eating many different kinds of dinosaurs.

Velicorapter -  A small but quick and fierce dinosaur. They lived during what is now Mongolia, running around the size of a turkey. They were around 6 feet long and only knee high but not to be underestimated, they were smart and very fast. They are covered in feathers and have very sharp claws, they are hunters and eat meat working in packs. 

The Great Extinction

Dinosaurs thrived and roamed the earth for millions of years until suddenly it all ended. A giant asteroid had struck the earth and volcanic eruptions along with climate change all happened at once. This completely changed ecosystems all over and wiped out food sources, causing dinosaurs and other species to be extinct. 

Not every dinosaur was extinct, the ones that remained were the avian dinosaurs which evolved to become other species such as birds, dinosaurs are their descendants. 

Dinosaurs Today

To this day we are still discovering dinosaurs through their fossils. We probably will never see them roaming the earth again, but we can still see them through their fossils. Modern scientists are bringing their skeletons to life, reconstructing them, and keeping the dinosaur legend alive. So continue to go to these museums to learn about these fascinating creatures that roamed our earth millions of years ago!