How long did dinosaurs live on earth

So, in the big scheme of things, even dinosaurs, who were on Earth for ,, years, are relative newcomers! They evolved from a group of reptiles called Archosaurs. In the geological timescale, periods of time correspond to layers of rock. For example, the Triassic period refers to the time during which the rock in the Triassic layer was formed. Just as days are divided into hours and minutes, etc. An era is divided into periods , which are themselves divided into epochs.

Dinosaurs were around during the Mesozoic era , which is divided into 3 periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Dinosaurs appeared on Earth midway through the Triassic period. They became the dominant land animals near the beginning of the Jurassic period. Reptiles dominated life on land during the Mesozoic era, a period of time which extended from approximately million to 65 million years ago.

The Age of Reptiles lasted for nearly million years - and then ended comparatively suddenly. As yet, we do not know exactly what killed off the great dinosaurs - but almost certainly it was a sudden and quite catastrophic change in the earth's climate which occurred towards the end of the Cretaceous Period about 65 million years ago.

Perhaps it will be possible one day to discover just what did happen to end the reign of the reptiles after million years as dominating animals. We constantly unearth fossil remains which provide us with more and more information about the animal species of those far off times, so we may yet find the answer to the question that has never been properly answered. This debate may rage for years, as scientists dig up new clues and develop new techniques for understanding the past.

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