History of dinosaurs. How dinosaurs appeared: the history of occurrence and interesting facts. Difference in pelvic bones

The generally accepted story of the origin of life on Earth is outdated. Two scientists, Peter Ward and Joseph Kirschvink, offer a book that summarizes all the findings of recent research. The authors show that many of our previous ideas about the history of the origin of life are incorrect. First, the development of life was not a slow, gradual process: cataclysms contributed to the formation of life more than all other forces combined. Secondly, the basis of life is carbon, but what other elements determined its evolution? Third, since Darwin we have been thinking in terms of the evolution of species. In fact, there has been an evolution of ecosystems - from underwater volcanoes to rainforests - that have shaped the world as we know it. Drawing on their years of experience in paleontology, biology, chemistry, astrobiology, Ward and Kirschvink tell a story of life on Earth that is so fantastic that it is hard to imagine, and at the same time, so familiar that it is impossible to pass by.

Unlike the lungs of mammals, the folded lungs of reptiles and birds are one large alveolus. To increase the surface area for respiratory exchange, such lungs contain many leaf-like folds of tissue directed into the air sac, which is why such lungs are called folded. There are several options for the device of such a lung system. Some have several smaller sections, others have secondary air sacs that are separate from the lungs, but connected to them by tubes. Like alveolar lungs, air enters and exits in most folded lungs in the same general way, but there were exceptions, and recent discoveries have changed our understanding not only of the nature of early reptiles, but also of their fate during the Permian mass extinction.

Folded lungs are not elastic, and therefore do not automatically contract after some time after inspiration. Lung ventilation also differs from group to group. Lizards and snakes use the movement of their ribs to draw in air, but as we have seen, locomotion prevents full expansion of the lung cavity in the lizard, and therefore these animals cannot breathe while locomotion.

Various modifications of folded lungs create more diversity in this type of respiratory system than in the case of alveolar lungs. For example, crocodiles have both folded lungs and a diaphragm, but snakes, lizards, and birds do not have this last organ. However, the diaphragm of crocodiles does not look like a similar organ of mammals: in crocodiles it consists of connective tissue, is attached to the liver, the movements of such a "liver" diaphragm are similar to the operation of a valve or pump, and the pelvic muscles help it. In mammals (and humans), the diaphragm presses on the liver in the same mode as in crocodiles, a kind of visceral pump is created, but the process of this mechanics is noticeably different.

Until recently, the folded lungs of crocodiles and alligators were considered relatively primitive and therefore ineffective. But then we had to reconsider our understanding of the respiratory capabilities of modern organisms, as well as form a completely new vision of the evolution of reptiles during the Permian mass extinction and further - during the Triassic.

The most inefficient way of breathing is in mammals, they (we) inhale and exhale through the same channel. The inefficiency is due to the collision of gas molecules at the end of exhalation and the beginning of inhalation. With any acceleration of breathing, a chaotic collision of the exhaled air on its way out with the air flow beginning to flow in occurs, and some of the exhaled air - with a higher concentration of CO 2 and a lower concentration of O 2 - again rushes into the lungs. It has long been believed that crocodiles experience the same difficulty. However, in 2010, it was discovered that crocodiles actually use a separate one-way air passage, similar to that of birds and dinosaurs. The new evidence also shows that the ancient Permian and Triassic reptile ancestors that eventually gave rise to modern birds and crocodiles, as well as extinct dinosaurs, had far more efficient respiratory organs than their therapsid contemporaries (the progenitors of mammals). Those early ancestors of modern reptiles and birds made it through the Permian extinction because of two major advantages: they were cold-blooded and able to extract more oxygen from the air than mammals (than the reptiles that later gave birth to mammals). We mammals have been set up! We have never had much of a chance of winning the fight for survival during extinctions, let alone ecological dominance. Mammals of the Mesozoic were no bigger than rats, and they were really scared - there were only dinosaurs around!

How many mysteries are fraught with ancient world history. Dinosaurs are one of them. They reigned on Earth for more than 160 million years, from the Triassic period (about 225 million years ago) to the end of the Cretaceous (about 65 million years ago). Today, scientists can recreate the appearance of these animals, their lifestyle and habits, but many questions have not yet been answered. How did dinosaurs appear? Why did they disappear? Although these dinosaurs disappeared from the face of our planet almost 65 million years ago, the history of dinosaurs, their origin, life and sudden death is of undoubted interest to researchers. Let's look at the main stages in the development of reptiles.

origin of name

Dinosaurs are called the only group of reptiles. This name refers only to those of them who lived in the Mesozoic era. When translated from Greek, the term "dinosaur" means "terrifying" or "terrible lizard." This name was introduced by the British explorer Richard Owen in 1842. So he suggested calling the first discovered fossilized remains of ancient lizards to emphasize their unprecedented size and grandeur.

Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs

As you know, the entire history of the planet is traditionally divided into successive eras. The time in which dinosaurs lived is usually attributed to the Mesozoic. It, in turn, includes three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. The Mesozoic era began about 225 million years ago and ended about 70 million years ago. The history of dinosaurs begins during the first period - the Triassic. However, they were most widespread in the Cretaceous.

Long before the advent of dinosaurs, reptiles lived on the planet. They looked like lizards familiar to modern man in that their paws were on the sides of the body. But when global warming began (300 million years ago), an evolutionary explosion took place among them. All groups of reptiles began to actively develop. This is how the archosaur appeared - it differed from its predecessors in that its paws were already located under the body. Presumably, the emergence of dinosaurs belongs to this chronological segment.

Triassic Dinosaurs

Already at the very beginning of the Triassic period, many new species of lizards appeared. It is believed that they already walked on two legs, because their front legs were shorter and much less developed than their hind legs. In this they differed from their predecessors. The history of the emergence of dinosaurs says that one of the first species was staurikosaurus. He lived about 230 million years ago in what is now Brazil.

In the early evolutionary stages, there were a large number of other reptiles: ethosaurs, cynodonts, ornithosuchids and others. Therefore, the dinosaurs had to endure a long rivalry before carving their niche and flourishing. It is generally accepted that they acquired a dominant position over all other inhabitants of the planet at the end of the Triassic period. This is associated with the large-scale extinction of animals that inhabited the Earth at that time.

Jurassic Dinosaurs

By the beginning of the Jurassic period, dinosaurs had become the sovereign masters of the planet. They settled over the entire surface of the Earth: in the mountains and plains, swamps and lakes. The history of dinosaurs of this period is marked by the emergence and spread of numerous new species. Examples include Allosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus.

Moreover, these lizards most radically differed from each other. So, they could be completely different sizes, have a different lifestyle. Some of the dinosaurs were predators, others were completely harmless herbivores. Interestingly, it was during the Jurassic period that the winged lizards, pterosaurs, flourished. Majestic reptiles reigned not only on land and in the sky, but also in the depths of the sea.

Cretaceous Dinosaurs

During the Cretaceous period, the number and diversity of dinosaurs reached their maximum level. On the other hand, some scientists do not share the view of a sudden and significant increase in the number of reptiles. In their opinion, representatives of the Triassic and Jurassic periods are much less studied than the inhabitants of the Cretaceous.

At that time there were a lot of herbivorous reptiles. This is due to the appearance on the planet of a large number of new plant species. However, there were plenty of predators. It is to the Cretaceous period that the appearance of such a well-known species as the Tyrannosaurus Rex belongs. By the way, he turned out to be perhaps one of the most famous dinosaurs. The most massive of all carnivorous reptiles, it weighed up to eight tons, and its height could reach 12 meters. Also, the Cretaceous period includes the appearance of such well-known species as Iguanodon and Triceratops.

The mysterious death of dinosaurs

Dinosaurs disappeared approximately 65 million years ago. This event occurred at the very end of the Cretaceous period. Today there are many different theories about how and why this happened. At the same time, scientists still cannot come to a consensus.

In particular, the causes of their death, as well as whether it was slow or fast, raise questions. It is known for certain that it became one of the parts of the "great extinction" of that time. Then not only dinosaurs disappeared from the face of the Earth, but also other reptiles, as well as mollusks and some algae. According to one point of view, the "great extinction" was triggered by the fall of an asteroid.

After that, giant clouds of dust rose into the air, covering the sun for months, which caused the death of all life. Some scientists are of the opinion that a star exploded near the Earth, as a result of which the entire planet was covered with radiation that is deadly for its inhabitants. Another common view is that the dinosaurs died out as a result of a cold snap that began at the end of the Cretaceous. One way or another, the era of reptiles is over. And how this happened, science has yet to find out.

History of the study of dinosaurs

The history of dinosaurs began to interest people relatively recently. Their study began only at the beginning of the 19th century. This is largely due to the fact that people did not perceive the bones found in the Earth as dinosaur footprints. Interestingly, in antiquity it was believed that these were the remains of the heroes of the Trojan War.

In the Middle Ages and until the 19th century - the giants who died in the Flood. Only in 1824 were they first identified as the remains of giant lizards. In 1842, the British scientist Richard Owen, drawing attention to the main distinguishing features of these reptiles, brought them into a separate suborder and gave them the name "dinosaurs". Since then, there has been a constant accumulation of knowledge about them, new species have been discovered. The life history of dinosaurs was becoming more and more complete. Now the study of these reptiles continues with even greater zeal. Modern researchers have almost a thousand varieties of dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs in popular culture

World art has given people a huge number of books and films dedicated to these lizards. For example, they appear in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, which was subsequently filmed several times. On the basis of the work of Michael Crichton, the famous film "Jurassic Park" was shot. The history of dinosaurs for children is presented with the help of numerous animated films and colorful illustrated books. Of these, the child can get acquainted with these amazing and majestic animals.

Despite the fact that so much time has passed since the last dinosaurs disappeared from the surface of the Earth, the history of the origin of these majestic dinosaurs, their life and the mystery of their disappearance still excite the hearts and minds of people. However, most of their mysteries are likely to remain unanswered.

Dinosaurs are huge lizards, the height of which reached a 5-story building. Their remains are found deep in the earth, so scientists say that dinosaurs lived on Earth millions of years ago.

The last dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago. And they appeared 225 million years ago. Judging by the remains of the bones of these lizards, scientists conclude that there were more than 1000 varieties of such animals. Among them were large and medium, bipedal and quadrupedal, as well as those that crawled, walked, ran, jumped or flew in the sky.

Why did these giant animals become extinct? There are several theories about their death.

Since the death of dinosaurs occurred a very long time ago, we can only build hypotheses based on known scientific facts:

• The extinction of the dinosaurs proceeded very slowly and took millions of years. This period was called by paleontologists "Ice Age".
• Over the indicated millions of years, the climate has changed.

  In the previous era, there were no ice caps on Earth, and the water temperature at the ocean floor was +20ºC. Climate change has caused a decrease in overall temperature and the appearance of significant icing.

• In addition to the climate, the composition of the atmosphere changed. If at the beginning of the Cretaceous period the air contained 45% oxygen, then after 250 million years - only 25%.
• During this period of time, a planetary catastrophe occurred. It is confirmed by the fact of the presence of iridium - an element that is located deep in the earth's core, and is also found in asteroids and comets. Iridium is found in the deep layers of the soil all over the planet.
• There are indirect witnesses of the collision of the Earth with an asteroid - huge craters. The largest are in Mexico (80 km in diameter) and at the bottom of the Indian Ocean (40 km).
• Along with the dinosaurs, some types of pangolins (marine and flying) became extinct.

When and how dinosaurs became extinct: catastrophe theories

Habitat change

Our planet is changing very slowly but steadily. The climate is changing, new species of animals appear and old species disappear. They are not adapted to life in new conditions.

cooling

The average air temperature dropped from 25ºC to +10ºC. The amount of precipitation has decreased. The climate became colder and drier. Dinosaurs, like other dinosaurs, were not adapted to life in cool conditions.

It is known that most lizards are cold-blooded. When the air temperature drops, they cool down and become numb. However, this theory cannot explain why those reptiles that were warm-blooded and could hibernate died out.

Another theory is more vital - as a result of climate change, there is less herbaceous vegetation - ferns, which were not eaten by predators. Judging by the size of the dinosaurs, solid thickets of food were necessary for their subsistence. As a result of a decrease in the amount of food, a gradual extinction began. Herbivores were dying because they had lost food. And predatory - because there were few herbivores (which they ate).

Planetary catastrophe: a collision with an asteroid or a star explosion

Traces of a collision with a celestial body were found on the Yucatan Island - a huge crater covered with stones and soil. When the asteroid collided with the earth, a powerful explosion was supposed to occur, which raised tons of soil, stone and dust into the air. A dense suspension covered the sun for a long time and caused a cooling. As a result, not only dinosaurs became extinct, but also a number of other reptiles. This theory is confirmed by the remains of iridium in the soil of the Cretaceous period.

The explosion of a star relatively close to our planet could be the cause of a significant increase in radiation. However, it is not clear why the colossal releases of radiation kept other animals alive. Why dinosaurs died out is still a mystery that haunts the minds of scientists.

Despite many theories, scientists are doing computer simulations and reconstructions of what happened many millions of years ago. This will be discussed in the film.

Who are dinosaurs?

» Dinosaurs » What are dinosaurs?

Word "dinosaur" literally means "terrible, huge lizard." Dinosaurs are ancient prehistoric reptiles that belong to the archosaur subclass. Dinosaurs are very different: they could be the size of a cat and a huge whale, which is the largest animal on planet Earth.

Some dinosaurs were predators, i.e. preyed on others, weaker and less aggressive. Other lizards ate exclusively plant food. They are called herbivores. Dinosaurs mastered not only land. They also lived in water and, as many scientists believe, could fly.

Dinosaurs are not reptiles in the full sense; have a significant difference from them: the legs of dinosaurs were located directly under their torso, in contrast to reptiles, whose legs are located on the sides of the torso. In this regard, dinosaurs are similar to mammals.

The word "dinosaur" was first introduced into scientific use by the English explorer of the 19th century Richard Owen. He established that the fossilized remains belong to animals of the same species.

Dinosaurs lived on planet Earth for approximately 140 million years. They lived on all continents: on land and in the ocean. The era of dinosaurs is called the Mesozoic era. This era is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Dinosaurs originated during the Triassic period, approximately 300-200 million years ago. It is interesting that then all the continents were connected to each other, and the weather conditions were hot. There was little vegetation. Huge tracts of land resembled deserts. Plants grew in river valleys. There were also coniferous forests. Plants were dominated by ferns and conifers.

Dinosaurs flourished during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

At this time, they populated the land and learned to fly.

Dinosaurs resembled dinosaurs of various sizes: some were the size of a chicken, others were larger than elephants and whales. Dinosaurs were oviparous and differed from reptiles in that they laid their eggs on land rather than in water. Baby dinosaurs hatched from eggs already fully formed and ready for a full life. An example would be the young of modern crocodiles.

Dinosaurs gradually adapted to various environmental conditions. Some became predators, others ate only plants. Dinosaurs crawled and ran, lived in forests and deserts. There were several groups of dinosaurs. One of them consisted of animals that were very similar to modern crocodiles. These dinosaurs were called thecodonts. They lived near water bodies, hunted insects, frogs and small lizards. Over time, thecodonts learned to run on their hind limbs. This made it possible to develop greater speed, and therefore, to hunt more efficiently. Thecodonts began to dominate other lizards. Thecodonts are considered the ancestors of all dinosaurs.

Thecodonts include crocodiles, pterosaurs (lizards that could fly), and some dinosaurs themselves.

Thus, the term "dinosaurs" refers to all fossil pangolins, regardless of their belonging to a particular order or group.

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Dinosaurs This very word has a bewitching effect on us. We immediately imagine prehistoric animals. Unusual giant monsters amaze our imagination. Information in the press, dinosaurs in various forms on colorful illustrations and postcards, exhibitions with moving dinosaurs - all this brought these animals closer to us. However, no one can say with complete certainty what their coloration really was or what they ate, because man has never seen dinosaurs with his own eyes. The last dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. Only a few traces of their stay on Earth have survived to this day: fossilized bones and eggs, prints of the skin and legs of these reptiles.

Despite the painstaking work of scientists, there are many gaps in our knowledge about dinosaurs. I was interested in the question "Why did the dinosaurs disappear?"

About 150 million years ago, strange creatures lived on Earth, which we call dinosaurs. In those days, people did not yet exist, however, we know a lot about dinosaurs thanks to their bones found in the rock masses.

Anna McChord, British Museum of Natural History, London, England.

The time period of the existence of dinosaurs includes three prehistoric eras: the Triassic, Cretaceous and Jurassic periods (see glossary). Throughout these periods, dinosaurs reigned supreme on land. The era of dinosaurs began in the middle Triassic, 230 million years ago. At that time, the continents were shifted and formed a single whole. In the Jurassic period, 210-145 million years ago, the continents gradually moved apart, shallow seas formed between them. In the Cretaceous period, 145-65 million years ago, the continents moved apart more and more, the seas between them became deeper and deeper. This was the last period of the existence of dinosaurs.

After analyzing the scientific data on the existence of dinosaurs, we can say that dinosaurs dominated our planet for 150 million years.

Dinosaur habitat.

Scientists believe that once the continents were connected into one continent, called Pangea. During the Triassic period, this huge island was formed from the drained lands. Its name means "solid land". The climate during this period was hot and dry. On the humid lowlands in the river valleys and along the coasts of the oceans, ferns and horsetails grew, and in the forests - tree-like and coniferous trees. The animal world was represented by insects, frogs, numerous lizards. The first representatives of dinosaurs were bipedal predators of medium size, then herbivorous dinosaurs appeared on four legs.

During the Jurassic period, Pangea split into two parts: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. Then Gondwana also split into large pieces - the territories of South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica. Gondwana and Laurasia were separated by the Tethys Sea. Perhaps the Mediterranean Sea is what is left of it. The climate became humid and warm, and vast areas were covered with lush vegetation, primarily a variety of forests. Favorable habitat conditions contributed to the unprecedented flourishing of the world of dinosaurs: numerous new species arose that spread throughout the Earth. Of the living creatures on land, dinosaurs now dominated everywhere, and not other lizards.

During the Cretaceous period, the first continents broke away from Gondwana. The seas between the continents became wider and deeper, and the climate became a little cooler. This led to the emergence of regions with a rich flora, in which new changes took place. Flowering plants appeared. The very first flowers were magnolias, then roses appeared. Next - birches, poplars, plane trees, oaks, changing their outfit at different times of the year. Palm trees, papyri, water lilies, cereals grew. Ponds became the place of residence of the first birds. They were water birds with webbed feet and sometimes even toothy ones. The first insectivores and marsupials, such as the opossum, appeared. No larger than a large rat, it looked like animals that still live in Australia to this day.

Thus, during the time of the dinosaurs, there was rich vegetation. Also, some species of plants and animals have survived to the present.

Types of dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs are a group of reptiles that lived many millions of years ago. Paleontologists have managed to find fossils that can be used to judge the appearance and lifestyle of these animals. The very word "dinosaur" means "terrible lizard". A huge number of dinosaur species lived on Earth, but not all of them lived at the same time.

Scientists have described over 500 different types of dinosaurs. There are large and small predatory dinosaurs, bird-footed and fat-headed dinosaurs, prickly, armored and horned dinosaurs. The most numerous family was made up of carnivorous dinosaurs. The smallest are spiny dinosaurs. There was a whole "arms race" between carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs. For example, herbivorous ankylosaurs resembled crawling tanks. Their body was completely covered with horny scales and plates, often merging into a solid shell. In the huge herbivorous Iguanodons, the thumbs of their front paws resembled sharp daggers. Stegosaurs had a series of bony plates on their backs that protected their spine. Triceraptors had three long horns. Larger lizards survived in fights. For example, the length of the brontosaurus reached 20 meters, and the mass was about 40 tons. Among the predatory dinosaurs were small and fast-running species that could attack large lizards in a flock. Ornithomimus were similar to modern ostriches. There were swimming dinosaurs. They are called ichthyosaurs (lizard fish). Plesiosaurs had the head of a crocodile and the body of a whale with four legs. There were flying dinosaurs - pterosaurs. With their leathery wings, they resemble modern bats. Some ancient species - turtles, crocodiles, lizards - live on our planet today, almost unchanged in 300 million years.

Thus, the world of dinosaurs was very diverse. Dinosaurs looked very strange to our eyes. That's why I'm so curious to explore their world.

5. Conditions for the existence of dinosaurs.

A dinosaur is a living organism. For its existence, certain conditions are necessary: ​​climate, the presence of a feeding and reproduction environment. The climate of our planet during this period was favorable for the existence of dinosaurs: warm and mild. Dinosaurs mastered land, water and air. They had a huge planet at their disposal. The flora was quite rich and varied. All kinds of plants, from low-growing ferns to giant trees, were available to feed dinosaurs. Carnivorous dinosaurs had long and sharp claws with which they finished off their prey. And also - sharp teeth, tearing prey to pieces.

Herbivorous dinosaurs had to look for ways to protect themselves from predators. Many types of dinosaurs led a herd lifestyle. This gave them protection from enemies. But predatory dinosaurs ate not only their herbivorous relatives. They also hunted small animals - insects and lizards. There was no shortage of food for dinosaurs of any kind.

Scientists have proven that dinosaurs laid eggs. The cubs could stay in the nest for a long time under the protection of the mother who fed them. The cubs lived in the nest with their parents until a certain age. Thus, nestling and brooding behavior of young animals was observed in dinosaurs, which were cared for by females.

The life expectancy of dinosaurs was different: from 10-20 years in some species - up to 300 years in others. Therefore, dinosaurs could raise more than one offspring during their lifetime.

So, the conditions for the existence of dinosaurs were: a mild and warm climate, the presence of a variety of flora and fauna, and care for their offspring.

6. Reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs.

For 150 million years, dinosaurs dominated our planet and then disappeared. This happened at the end of the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago. Since the discovery of dinosaurs, scientists have been puzzled by the question of why dinosaurs disappeared so suddenly. Many hypotheses have been put forward in this regard.

There is a hypothesis about the global flood that claimed the lives of dinosaurs. I do not agree with this hypothesis, because.

marine animals (plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs) also died out. In the conditions of the global flood, they could survive.

I also consider the hypothesis of the extermination of dinosaurs by primitive man to be incorrect. It has already been proven that primitive people appeared 60 million years ago, and dinosaurs no longer existed by that time.

Some scientists have suggested such reasons for the death of dinosaurs as huge growth and sluggishness. But the smallest and fastest dinosaurs also died out.

The assumption that predatory dinosaurs destroyed the herbivores, and then they themselves died of hunger, I think is incredible.

Why did predatory dinosaurs not touch other reptiles that have survived to this day?

The most unpopular version in the scientific world explains the disappearance of dinosaurs by the appearance of new "hungry" predators - the first mammals that possibly feasted on dinosaur eggs and the dinosaurs themselves.

Suppose a huge celestial body with a diameter of 10 kilometers has fallen to Earth. A large amount of dust, ash and dirt rose from the impact, and the sky over the entire Earth darkened for many months. Plants that needed sunlight died. Then herbivorous animals and predators perished. There was a cooling, because the sun's rays did not reach the earth's surface. The upper layers of the air warmed up, and warming came again. If some species of dinosaurs managed to survive the catastrophe, they still died as a result of its consequences. The consequences dragged on for years, and perhaps for centuries. Gradually, living conditions worsened. Dinosaurs were adapted to a warm and humid climate and rich flora and fauna. As a result of a terrible catastrophe, they lost all this. Cold nights and winters adversely affected breeding. The cubs grew more slowly, certain types of dinosaurs became rarer and gradually began to die out.

Scientists have proven that a collision with a huge celestial body (comet, meteorite or asteroid) can have devastating consequences and endanger the lives of billions of species of creatures. I believe that a meteorite impact could significantly disrupt the conditions for the existence of dinosaurs and cause the process of their extinction. Therefore, this hypothesis seems to me the most truthful.

7. Conclusion.

Having found out the time period of the existence of dinosaurs, determining their habitat, studying the conditions for the existence of dinosaurs, we can conclude about the possible causes of the death of these animals. Of all the existing hypotheses about the extinction of dinosaurs, I consider the most correct hypothesis about the extinction of dinosaurs due to a meteorite collision with planet Earth.

Dinosaurs (from the Greek dinosauria, deinos - "terrible" and saurus - "lizard") lived in the Mesozoic era, which is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Throughout the history of studying the remains of ancient lizards, paleontologists have been able to identify and describe over 500 different species of these reptiles.

Where and in what territories the ancient lizards lived, see the AiF.ru infographic.

When did the first dinosaurs appear?

The first dinosaurs, the archosaurs, appeared 230 million years ago. Typical representatives of the Triassic period were Placerias, Plateosaurus, Coelophysis, Cynodont, and Peteinosaurus. What dinosaurs lived in Russia from the Triassic to the Cretaceous periods,

During the Jurassic period, when a temperate climate was established on Earth, flying lizards appeared (Archeopteryx, Pterodactyl, Pterosaurus), as well as large predatory dinosaurs (Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Anurognathus, Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus and others). The remains of some of them are paleontologists.

During the last period of the Mesozoic era, giant lizards lived on Earth, many of them reached 5–8 meters in height and 20 meters in length. Typical Cretaceous reptiles: Velociraptor, Seismosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Iguanodon and Culasuchus.

What dinosaurs lived on the territory of Russia in the Mesozoic era,

How many years did dinosaurs live?

Paleontologists believe that the lifespan of small species ranged from one to two decades, and large dinosaurs could live from 200 to 300 years.

Who inhabited the Tula region 300 million years ago,

Why did dinosaurs become extinct?

The changes that took place on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period led to the gradual extinction of all types of dinosaurs. Possible reasons for the disappearance include:

• an asteroid that fell to Earth;
• sharp warming and climate change;
• strong earthquake or volcanic eruption;
• an increase in the number of mammals that ate the food familiar to dinosaurs.

What marine animals lived on the territory of Russia in ancient times,

When were dinosaur bones first discovered?

The first dinosaur skeleton was described in the 1820s by British paleontologist William Buckland.

When was the last time a dinosaur was discovered in Russia?

The last significant discovery was made in 2014. During the extraction of shale, an almost intact ichthyosaur skeleton was discovered.

Even though I'm a girl, the topic of dinosaurs has always been interesting to me. It all started with children's cartoons in which these huge creatures were present. Sometimes they were good, sometimes evil, however, over the years my interest in these animals only grew. Recently, I had the unique opportunity to go to dinosaur museum in America (my summer vacation took place there). This place was distinguished by its scale, and the guide who conducted the tour told everything in the smallest detail.

Where did dinosaurs come from

As far as I know, dinosaurs were not the first inhabitants of our planet, because it originated more than three billion years ago. The first living beings on our planet were, of course, bacteria, molluscs and fish. Initially, they all lived in the water. Over time, as a result of evolution, some of the living species started to land. They had legs, lungs, but still had gills. The first amphibious creatures could not leave the water for a long time, since their scales had to constantly remain wet, but evolution has borne fruit, and the surface of the earth began to be populated by various lizards, which later became known as the word known to us "dinosaurs".

If you think that dinosaurs were originally huge, then most likely you are mistaken. According to scientists, initially dinosaurs were small and walked on two legs(many compare them to turkeys). But due to the “survival of the fittest” rule of the wild, the dinosaurs began increase in size and now, after several millennia, many of them were already the size of a 25-storey building and weighed more than 30 tons.

Dinosaurs: what they really were

Contrary to the popular belief that dinosaurs are extremely vicious and bloodthirsty animals, it turned out that this was not the case (which came as a surprise to me). Our guide told us that most dinosaurs were herbivorous reptiles, and, accordingly, they ate only plant foods, moved very slowly and were completely clumsy. No, of course not, and carnivorous dinosaurs roamed our land , but there were many less than herbivores(and they weren't all that big). As I understood from the whole excursion, horror stories about huge all-devouring dinosaurs are just fairy tales for little children.

Interesting Dinosaur Facts:

1. Dinosaurs lived on earth about a hundred million years ago.
2. The largest dinosaur is Seismasaurus(according to scientists, this species lived on the territory).
3. dinosaur teeth could be as long as up to 20 centimeters.