With everything else out of the way, the once insignificant dinosaurs now had a clear path ahead of them. A path to dominating the earth.
The early Jurassic saw the birth of many new types of dinosaurs. It also saw the the birth of a whole new earth. After the sudden extinction of many of the earths' species, the climate on earth began to drastically change.
The great supercontinent of Pangea began to break up into two other landmasses, known as Laurasia and Gondwana, which actually were forming during the Triassic. This caused the climate to drastically change.
The once dry, arid deserts transitioned into vast, humid rainforests dominated by giant conifer trees, or gymnosperms. This shift in climate also caused a dramatic shift in species.
The relatively small prosauropods were now joined by giants that would define the dinosaur age. These giants had evolved long necks for reaching their heads into the treetops. These giants were called sauropods. Sauropods had grown to gigantic sizes necessary for the possession of large guts necessary for consuming conifer trees, which were very low in nutrients. They had also evolved very long necks to be able to reach the tops of the trees. And the early Jurassic birthed one of the earliest sauropods known. This sauropod was known as Barapasaurus.
(Barapasaurus)
Barapasaurus gets it's name from two Indian words, "bara" meaning big, and "pa" meaning foot. It had a built that would later be typical of later sauropods, and was also a very large sauropod for it's time, compared with the relatively small Vulcanodon and the many prosauropods at the time, including the mouse-sized prosauropod, Mussasaurus, the smallest dinosaur ever found. And though the environment seemed in favor of the new sauropods, it was also working with some other, fiercer dinosaurs. These types of dinosaurs were known as theropods. Unlike the four-legged sauropods, the theropods stood on two legs, and many of them had powerful, lizard-ish skulls with sharp, pointy teeth locked inside the mouth. They also hunted the sauropods, along with the many other plant-eating dinosaurs of the time. Some of the more well-known species of theropods of the time included dinosaurs with crests on their heads. And the most well-known of these types of dinosaurs was known as Dilophosaurus.
(Dilophosaurus)
The most distinguishing feature of Dilophosaurus were the two crests on it's head, though they were likely too delicate for anything but display purposes. But display could have been useful in many ways, such as attracting mates, intimidating other males, or intimidating potential predators of the species. And contrary to the statement I made above, Dilophosaurus is actually said by many to have been too weak for hunting large animals like sauropods due to a notch in the jaw. The notch was actually a weakness, and there are two theories of how Dilophosaurus might have survived. One is that it dug out small prey from rock crevices, though being that it was a fairly large dinosaur, it wouldn't have really satisfied it's needs. Another possible explanation is that it was simply a scavenger, feeding on the dead carcasses of larger dinosaurs. They often traveled in groups throughout the forests, and this is supported by the fact that there were many fossils of Dilophosaurus that were found together. Another scavenging theropod of the time was known as Cryolophosaurus. It was larger than Dilophosaurus, one of the largest theropods of it's time, and was one of the earliest theropods of the Jurassic.
What also makes it so interesting is that it was the first dinosaur to be discovered in Antarctica.
(Cryolophosaurus)
The Antarctica of the time looked much different than what we're used to seeing today. Many years before it turned into an desolate, icy land, Antarctica was a land of mixed desert and forest, and was part of the continent of Gondwana. And unlike today, there were many types of animals living on the continent, including dinosaurs, though only about 4 types of dinosaurs have been discovered so far, though they were plentiful. And one of those dinosaurs was Cryolophosaurus. Cryolophosaurs was most likely a scavenger based on fossil evidence, such as broken teeth from at least two different theropods. It fed of the carcasses of larger creatures such as the prosauropod Glacialisaurus. And though Cryolophosaurus was similar to Dilophosaurus in that regard, it also shared other advanced characteristics with later theropods, which makes it important in the evolutionary tree, as these traits would pass down to later theropods of the Jurassic.
And while there were the more well-known types of dinosaurs, there were many new species of dinosaurs as well, which included many types of stegosaurs and heterodontosaurs, one of which looked like something out of someones' nightmares, despite having a plant-based diet.
(Pegomastax)
Pegomastax looked like something between a vampire and a heterodontosaur. It was indeed a very strange looking dinosaur, and the canine-like teeth seemed very out-of-place, though they might have had a defensive function.
It also possessed a row of quills on its' back, which may have also served as a defense, to make it look bigger, or to make it look unappealing to predators, which probably would have worked. Pegomastax was also one of the of the smallest dinosaurs, and it only grew one foot long. And while it and it's other heterodontosaurid cousins were very plentiful during this period of time, there was another very interesting dinosaur lurking about. The Early Jurassic had also given birth to a species known as ankylosaurs. In particular, an early group of ankylosaurs known as scelidosaurs.
(Scelidosaurus)
Scelidosaurus was an unusual type of ankylosaur, along with one of the earliest of the ankylosaurs. It actually is still not known if it was an ankylosaur, though it was one of the first armored dinosaurs, along with the small bipedal Scutellosaurus. Scelidosaurus was so unusual due to the fact that it could stand on two legs to get food from the trees, though it was largely quadrupedal.
The early Jurassic seemed like a good time for the dinosaurs. They were spreading worldwide and many new types of dinosaurs were born, some of which would continue to be successful throughout the Mesozoic. But, while tehre were many dinosaurs roaming the earth, this was only the beginning. From here, dinosaurs would only continue to grow and change. The many scavengers of the Early Jurassic would eventually pale in comparison to the large, powerful theropods of future generations, and sauropods would only continue to get bigger. Dinosaurs all over the world would continue to get bigger and stronger, and the climate would continue to change. They would rule while other species, such as mammals, would live in their shadows. The age of dinosaurs was upon the earth.
The once dry, arid deserts transitioned into vast, humid rainforests dominated by giant conifer trees, or gymnosperms. This shift in climate also caused a dramatic shift in species.
The relatively small prosauropods were now joined by giants that would define the dinosaur age. These giants had evolved long necks for reaching their heads into the treetops. These giants were called sauropods. Sauropods had grown to gigantic sizes necessary for the possession of large guts necessary for consuming conifer trees, which were very low in nutrients. They had also evolved very long necks to be able to reach the tops of the trees. And the early Jurassic birthed one of the earliest sauropods known. This sauropod was known as Barapasaurus.
(Barapasaurus)
Barapasaurus gets it's name from two Indian words, "bara" meaning big, and "pa" meaning foot. It had a built that would later be typical of later sauropods, and was also a very large sauropod for it's time, compared with the relatively small Vulcanodon and the many prosauropods at the time, including the mouse-sized prosauropod, Mussasaurus, the smallest dinosaur ever found. And though the environment seemed in favor of the new sauropods, it was also working with some other, fiercer dinosaurs. These types of dinosaurs were known as theropods. Unlike the four-legged sauropods, the theropods stood on two legs, and many of them had powerful, lizard-ish skulls with sharp, pointy teeth locked inside the mouth. They also hunted the sauropods, along with the many other plant-eating dinosaurs of the time. Some of the more well-known species of theropods of the time included dinosaurs with crests on their heads. And the most well-known of these types of dinosaurs was known as Dilophosaurus.
(Dilophosaurus)
The most distinguishing feature of Dilophosaurus were the two crests on it's head, though they were likely too delicate for anything but display purposes. But display could have been useful in many ways, such as attracting mates, intimidating other males, or intimidating potential predators of the species. And contrary to the statement I made above, Dilophosaurus is actually said by many to have been too weak for hunting large animals like sauropods due to a notch in the jaw. The notch was actually a weakness, and there are two theories of how Dilophosaurus might have survived. One is that it dug out small prey from rock crevices, though being that it was a fairly large dinosaur, it wouldn't have really satisfied it's needs. Another possible explanation is that it was simply a scavenger, feeding on the dead carcasses of larger dinosaurs. They often traveled in groups throughout the forests, and this is supported by the fact that there were many fossils of Dilophosaurus that were found together. Another scavenging theropod of the time was known as Cryolophosaurus. It was larger than Dilophosaurus, one of the largest theropods of it's time, and was one of the earliest theropods of the Jurassic.
What also makes it so interesting is that it was the first dinosaur to be discovered in Antarctica.
(Cryolophosaurus)
The Antarctica of the time looked much different than what we're used to seeing today. Many years before it turned into an desolate, icy land, Antarctica was a land of mixed desert and forest, and was part of the continent of Gondwana. And unlike today, there were many types of animals living on the continent, including dinosaurs, though only about 4 types of dinosaurs have been discovered so far, though they were plentiful. And one of those dinosaurs was Cryolophosaurus. Cryolophosaurs was most likely a scavenger based on fossil evidence, such as broken teeth from at least two different theropods. It fed of the carcasses of larger creatures such as the prosauropod Glacialisaurus. And though Cryolophosaurus was similar to Dilophosaurus in that regard, it also shared other advanced characteristics with later theropods, which makes it important in the evolutionary tree, as these traits would pass down to later theropods of the Jurassic.
And while there were the more well-known types of dinosaurs, there were many new species of dinosaurs as well, which included many types of stegosaurs and heterodontosaurs, one of which looked like something out of someones' nightmares, despite having a plant-based diet.
(Pegomastax)
Pegomastax looked like something between a vampire and a heterodontosaur. It was indeed a very strange looking dinosaur, and the canine-like teeth seemed very out-of-place, though they might have had a defensive function.
It also possessed a row of quills on its' back, which may have also served as a defense, to make it look bigger, or to make it look unappealing to predators, which probably would have worked. Pegomastax was also one of the of the smallest dinosaurs, and it only grew one foot long. And while it and it's other heterodontosaurid cousins were very plentiful during this period of time, there was another very interesting dinosaur lurking about. The Early Jurassic had also given birth to a species known as ankylosaurs. In particular, an early group of ankylosaurs known as scelidosaurs.
(Scelidosaurus)
Scelidosaurus was an unusual type of ankylosaur, along with one of the earliest of the ankylosaurs. It actually is still not known if it was an ankylosaur, though it was one of the first armored dinosaurs, along with the small bipedal Scutellosaurus. Scelidosaurus was so unusual due to the fact that it could stand on two legs to get food from the trees, though it was largely quadrupedal.
The early Jurassic seemed like a good time for the dinosaurs. They were spreading worldwide and many new types of dinosaurs were born, some of which would continue to be successful throughout the Mesozoic. But, while tehre were many dinosaurs roaming the earth, this was only the beginning. From here, dinosaurs would only continue to grow and change. The many scavengers of the Early Jurassic would eventually pale in comparison to the large, powerful theropods of future generations, and sauropods would only continue to get bigger. Dinosaurs all over the world would continue to get bigger and stronger, and the climate would continue to change. They would rule while other species, such as mammals, would live in their shadows. The age of dinosaurs was upon the earth.
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