Life of dinosaurs so far without extinction

Scientists do not rule out the possibility that dinosaurs can evolve into intelligent humans like humans.

65 million years ago, a meteorite 15km in diameter crashed into Earth with the power equivalent to 10 billion atomic bombs in Hiroshima. The collision destroyed everything in a radius of hundreds of kilometers, creating intense tsunamis and causing 75% of Earth's creatures to become extinct.

Dinosaurs were once animals that dominated the ancient Earth.(Photo: Smithsonian).

Scientists have studied and hypothesized that if the collision does not occur or occur with less destructive power, now how dinosaurs will evolve and live, according to the BBC.

The team of scientists, including geologist Sean Gulick from the University of Texas, studied the fact that meteorites hit the Earth. They concluded that, if it fell early or a little later, the meteorite would crash into the Pacific or Atlantic instead of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

Falling into the deep sea reduced the power of the collision and limited the amount of sulfur dust fired to the atmosphere. At that time, sunlight shining on Earth will not be prevented by thick layers of ash and many dinosaurs may still exist.

"Dinosaurs will still become extinct because the climate becomes colder," said Mike Benton, a paleontologist at the University of Bristol. According to him, mammals will still replace the dinosaurs that dominate the Earth.

However, many other scientists believe that dinosaurs will adapt and survive."Dinosaurs are still well adapted at the end of the Cretaceous period," said researcher Stephen Brusatte at the University of Edinburgh.

Climate change may be the first obstacle that dinosaurs must overcome to survive. The Earth event warmed 55 million years ago, making the average temperature higher than today 8 degrees Celsius, tropical rainforest covering much of the land area.

In hot climates and plentiful plants, lizard-foot dinosaurs with long necks may grow faster , reproduce earlier and shrink in size. It has been found traces of small lizard foot dinosaurs in the European islands of the Cretaceous.

Long-necked dinosaurs can shrink in size when food is abundant.(Photo by Mo's Dinosaur News).

Another trend in the late Cretaceous period is the flowering plants or angiosperms that begin to grow. During the Jurassic period, most plants are ferns and conifer trees are less nutritious. It is possible that lizard-legged dinosaurs are so large in size to digest these plants effectively.

Herbivorous dinosaurs can switch to eating flowering plants , says Matt Bonnan, a paleontologist at Stockton University. "Because flowering plants are easier to digest, herbivorous dinosaurs will gradually shrink their body size ," he explained.

Along with flowering plants is the emergence of fruits, birds and mammals that help disperse seeds."Many birds live on fruit. So maybe some dinosaurs have evolved into fruit animals , " Bonnan said.

Some small feathered dinosaurs can evolve into similar primates. Many other species can drink nectar and help flowers pollinate, Brusatte added.

Another important event that occurred about 34 million years ago was that South America and Antarctica split, Antarctic ice formed, the Earth became colder and colder. The grasslands began to appear and spread everywhere.

"Mammals that eat grass with slender and fast legs gradually become popular, because there are no places to hide in the wide grass , " Holtz said. This is when the hooves and their enemies begin to thrive.

Triceratops or dinosaurs can evolve into herbivorous and fast-growing species, according to Darren Naish, a vertebrate paleontologist . "Dinosaurs then possessed many evolutionary advantages that mammals have experienced for a long time to achieve , " he added.

As a result, dinosaurs will adapt well to large lawns. Dinosaurs also have better vision than mammals and are more sensitive in detecting danger.

Dinosaurs will also have to face the Ice Age that took place 2.6 million years ago."Maybe in colder places, you will see thick skin dinosaurs with a coat covered from head to toe," Naish said.

Scientists also try to predict the fate of birds and mammals if terrestrial dinosaurs, lizards flying in the sky, fish lizards and sea dragons still exist.

The size of azhdarchid flying lizards compared to humans and giraffes.(Photos: Pinterest).

At the end of the Cretaceous, there were many species of birds exist. Perhaps this hinders the species diversity in the lizard, Holtz commented. He predicts that one of the flying lizards continues to be azhdarchid with a 12-meter wingspan.

The existence of dinosaurs will greatly affect mammals. Mammals existed about 160 million years before the meteorite impact. They are diverse but only small animals. When the meteorite crashed, the dinosaurs became extinct, mammals began to explode, according to Brusatte.

Other ideas suggest that large mammals will be difficult to survive, but bats, rodents, small carnivores, primates and mink bags will become popular. Naish believes that primates will still appear, can even evolve into species similar to humans. However, at that time, people will have to find ways to live and deal with dangerous animals.

In 1982, Dale Russell researcher at the Canadian Museum of Nature proposed the theory that dinosaurs evolved into intellectual species. Accordingly, Troodon-eating dinosaurs with huge brains may be the ancestors of intelligent dinosaurs. He also created simulated images if dinosaurs evolved into intelligent animals like humans.

Dale Russell hypothesizes that dinosaurs evolved into intelligent animals like humans.(Photos: Pinterest).

Holtz believes that dinosaurs may have complex brains and develop problem-solving abilities, but will not evolve into human-like forms."The evolution of the human process is very special, including the act of swinging trees and many other things," Holtz explained.

According to scientists, if overcoming major events in Earth's history, it is possible that dinosaurs will evolve and exist today. However, humans have hunted mammoths and many other large animals to the point of extinction. The population explosion and human hunting technique will definitely destroy a lot of dinosaurs.

If dinosaurs exist today, perhaps some large grass-eating species, even those that eat similar meat-eating tyrants, will be protected in large natural reserves or national parks. Some small dinosaurs will adapt to urban environments and live with humans like doves, mice or gulls.