00:00What if I told you that long before humans, cities, or even mammals ruled the Earth,
00:05dinosaurs were the undisputed kings of the planet.
00:08For more than 160 million years, dinosaurs dominated land, air, and sea,
00:14evolving into some of the largest, fastest, and most terrifying creatures ever known.
00:20But where did they come from?
00:21How did they rule the Earth for so long?
00:24And what really caused their extinction?
00:26Today, we're diving deep into the complete history of dinosaurs from their mysterious origins to their dramatic downfall.
00:341. The Age of Dinosaurs Begins
00:37Dinosaurs first appeared around 230 million years ago, during a time known as the Triassic period.
00:44At this time, the Earth looked very different.
00:47All continents were joined together into one massive supercontinent called Pangaea.
00:52The climate was hot and dry, and early dinosaurs were relatively small, agile creatures.
00:58These early dinosaurs weren't the rulers yet.
01:02They shared the planet with other reptiles.
01:04But one key advantage helped them rise.
01:07They walked upright, using less energy, and moving more efficiently than their competitors.
01:132. The Jurassic period Rise of the Giants
01:16Around 201 million years ago, the Earth entered the Jurassic period, and this is when dinosaurs truly took over.
01:24The continents began to separate, creating new environments and ecosystems.
01:29Dinosaurs evolved rapidly, growing bigger and more specialized.
01:34This era introduced legendary giants like Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus.
01:41These massive herbivores fed on towering trees, while powerful predators like Allosaurus hunted them.
01:48The Jurassic period is also when the first birds evolved.
01:52Proving that birds are actually modern descendants of dinosaurs, a fact many people still find surprising.
01:583. The Cretaceous period Peak of Dinosaur Power
02:01The final and longest age of dinosaurs was the Cretaceous period, lasting from about 145 to 66 million years ago.
02:10This era saw the most famous dinosaurs ever discovered, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Velociraptor, Spinosaurus.
02:21Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity during this time.
02:25Some were heavily armored, others incredibly fast, and some, like T-Rex, were apex predators with bone-crushing bites.
02:33Flowering plants also appeared during the Cretaceous, changing diets and ecosystems forever.
02:404. How Dinosaurs Lived
02:41Dinosaurs weren't just mindless monsters.
02:45Research shows they had complex behaviors.
02:48Some lived in herds.
02:49Some cared for their young.
02:51Some had feathers, not scales.
02:53They communicated, migrated, and adapted just like modern animals.
02:58In fact, many dinosaur fossils show evidence of injuries that healed proof they survived harsh lives.
03:065. The Mass Extinction
03:07What Really Happened
03:08About 66 million years ago, everything changed.
03:13A massive asteroid, roughly 6 miles wide, struck the Earth near what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
03:20The impact caused
03:21Global fires
03:22Massive tsunamis
03:24Massive tsunamis
03:25A dust cloud that blocks sunlight
03:26Extreme climate change
03:28Within a short time, 75% of all life on Earth was wiped out, including all non-avian dinosaurs.
03:36This event is known as the Cretaceous Paleogene Extinction.
03:416. Did all dinosaurs go extinct?
03:43Here's the twist most people don't expect.
03:46Not all dinosaurs went extinct.
03:48Birds are the direct descendants of small, feathered dinosaurs.
03:53Every pigeon, eagle, and sparrow you see today is technically a living dinosaur.
03:58So in a way, dinosaurs never truly disappeared.
04:01They evolved.
04:037. Why dinosaurs still fascinate us.
04:06Dinosaurs capture our imagination because they represent extreme power, evolution at its limits, a world completely different from our own.
04:16From Hollywood movies to museum exhibits, dinosaurs remain one of the most studied and loved subjects in science.
04:23And every year, new fossils are discovered, rewriting what we thought we knew.
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