00:00If dinosaurs once ruled the Earth, it seems like we should stumble upon their bones everywhere.
00:07But we don't.
00:10Why is that?
00:11Aren't you curious?
00:13There's no conspiracy here.
00:15The truth is that the quest to find dino remains is much more complex than meets the eye.
00:21Yes, dinosaur bones are real, we've found tons of them, and they've already been uncovered
00:26on every continent, despite many people arguing otherwise.
00:30And the uneven distribution of these prehistoric treasures is simply a quirk of nature.
00:38Turns out fossilization is an incredibly rare phenomenon.
00:42It only happens under specific conditions.
00:44When a dino bites the dust, the journey to fossilization begins.
00:49The carcass needs swift burial by sediment, followed by layers upon layers, creating a
00:54geological pressure cooker.
00:57Minerals sneak into the bones, morphing them into stone.
01:00This unique recipe predominantly occurs underwater, where sediments like sand and mud can gracefully
01:07cloak the fallen giants.
01:09Which is why dinos meeting their end above ground rarely end up as fossils.
01:14For example, we barely find any fossils of species who lived in the jungle, and especially
01:19in the mountains.
01:23Researchers reveal that many fossils arise from areas near lakes or rivers.
01:28Whether drowned before a flood or carried away by rain, these dinosaurs lucked out in
01:33fossil formation.
01:35These are the reasons why we don't discover dinos in every nook and cranny.
01:39The harsh reality is that we might never meet many dino species, all because of these limitations
01:45of fossilization.
01:47Around 71% of dinosaurs will never be discovered.
01:50We don't even know how many species we've lost due to unsuitable conditions.
01:55If we're super lucky, we might find some fossils of mountain dinosaurs in local rivers.
02:00But that's a very rare case.
02:02So yes, while dinosaurs graced the globe, all the fossils we've found so far were
02:08due to great luck.
02:12This makes you wonder how much dinosaurs lived in general.
02:15There are myths about them leading a tortoise-paced life.
02:18People believe that dinos were sauntering through centuries to achieve colossal sizes.
02:23Funny enough, the truth is exactly opposite.
02:27In reality, dinosaurs lived shortly and shone bright like rock stars.
02:31Unfortunately, once these animals hit the prime of reproduction, they often found themselves
02:36on the fast track to fossilization before reaching their full-size potential.
02:41What's interesting is that dinosaur life cycles align with the rhythm of trees.
02:46Perhaps you know that it's possible to determine how old the tree lived by its rings.
02:51It's true.
02:52Each pair of light and dark rings equals one year of age.
02:56Like the rings tell us about trees, dinos' bones tell us about them.
03:01Researchers examined slices of bones under a microscope, analyzing different tissues
03:05to gauge growth rates.
03:07Thick rings mean rapid growth, and narrow ones mean a more leisurely pace.
03:15In the animal kingdom, bigger usually equals longer life.
03:19So some people wonder whether big dinos actually lived longer.
03:22Apparently so.
03:24Large sauropod dinosaurs, akin to ancient behemoths, likely took around 30 to 35 years
03:30to reach their colossal peak.
03:33Following that, they might've enjoyed a few more decades on the prehistoric stage.
03:37For smaller dinosaurs, like the nimble orthopods, life was a swift affair.
03:42They grew to their full size after around 4 to 5 years of life.
03:46But after a mere 3 to 4 years, these mini-dinos, unless super-fortunate, might have bid adieu.
03:53So it turns out, many dinosaurs didn't live for hundreds of years.
03:57Most of them, even colossal ones, rarely marked even their 50s.
04:00It's a surprise if you compare them to today's giants like blue whales and elephants.
04:06These animals boast human-life-like spans.
04:09Blue whales live for around 80 to 90 years, and many elephants make it to their 60s to
04:1470s.
04:15And they're not as big as some dinosaurs.
04:18It's a pity that they left our planet so early, and we don't have a chance to study
04:24so many of them.
04:25What's even sadder is that dinosaurs have been doomed from the beginning.
04:30Even if a random cosmic rock hadn't hit our planet, dinosaurs would still have gone
04:35extinct by today.
04:37The Chicxulub meteorite smashed into our planet 66 million years ago.
04:42For the record, it didn't actually destroy all the dinosaurs, only the non-avian ones.
04:47The rest became birds.
04:48Yep, some of these colossal creatures became tiny chickens and pigeons we see today.
04:54Guess they know what wolves might feel like.
04:57But even before that happened, the Earth was slowly preparing a catastrophe for them.
05:02And research shows that the era before the asteroid impact wasn't exactly a paradise.
05:08It was more like a brewing cauldron of environmental challenges.
05:14The scientists delved into the Deccan Traps, one of the largest volcanic regions in present-day
05:19West India.
05:21They came up with an innovative technique to study the past through volcanoes, by measuring
05:26sulfur concentrations in rocks.
05:28That's how they learned that the Deccan Traps, spewing millions of cubic miles of molten
05:33rock, contributed to global climate shifts.
05:36Over 100,000 years before the infamous Chicxulub meteor struck, global temperatures might've
05:42plummeted by several degrees.
05:45This sudden drop was most likely triggered by sulfur emissions from the Deccan Traps.
05:49And this, in turn, led to pretty wild, unpleasant climate conditions.
05:54The Earth ended up experiencing volcanic winters.
05:58This made life super-challenging for flora and fauna, and set the stage for the eventual
06:03dinosaur extinction.
06:04So even if there was no asteroid, dinos wouldn't survive for too long.
06:13For a long time, scientists have been arguing whether it was the asteroid that wiped out
06:17the dinosaurs, or the volcanic activity.
06:20Finally, technology is developing, and we can use it to answer this question.
06:25An AI system developed by researchers offers its own perspective.
06:30Using over 100 processors fed with geological and climatic data, the AI explored the fossil
06:36records and over 300,000 possible scenarios to find the truth.
06:41And according to the machine, the volcanic theory is far more plausible.
06:46It told the scientists that the climate changes required for a mass extinction were likely
06:51caused by the Deccan Traps alone, even without the asteroid impact.
06:55The volcanic eruptions coincided with a Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, starting 300,000 years before the
07:03asteroid, and it continued for an extended period.
07:07This raised some questions about human vs. AI judgment.
07:10Some scientists expressed skepticism and talked about the AI's potential bias.
07:15But the researchers who led the project are excited about the novelty of their method
07:20and its potential to explore other periods of Earth history.
07:24However, it will likely take some time for humans to build trust in AI.
07:31We already mentioned that non-avian dinosaurs survived this apocalyptic event.
07:36For some reason, neither volcanoes nor an asteroid wiped out everything on our planet.
07:42Many animals survived, evolving into mammals, and many plants continued to flourish.
07:48Plants went through this even better than animals, actually.
07:51A catastrophe bid farewell to about 75% of Earth's species, not to count all the individual
07:57losses.
07:58Yet, botanical wonders survived.
08:01Around 78% of our plant species owe their existence to their persistent ancestors.
08:07Unfortunately, plants don't turn into fossils as easily as animals do.
08:11And we already know that this process isn't quick or common either.
08:15So the researchers had to turn to evolutionary trees.
08:19They analyzed up to 73,000 surviving plant species.
08:23The findings revealed a remarkable narrative of evolution and dominance.
08:28Turns out, after the Great Extinction, these sneaky plants seized the opportunity, just
08:34like mammals who rose to prominence after the dinosaur era.
08:38Major orders, like those of mint, magnolia, and orchids, not only coexisted with dinosaurs,
08:44but thrived beyond the extinction.
08:46The secret to their success lies in how they could adapt for pollination.
08:51They didn't care whether they were pollinated by wind or insects or anything else, basically
08:57eating resources from anywhere they could find.
09:00Thanks to this awesome adaptability, which scientists call flower power, their legacy
09:05lives and flourishes today.
09:14That's it for today!
09:15So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:19friends.
09:20Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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