🦕 TRIASSIC PERIOD: FIRST DINOSAURS
PAGE 1 OF 5 — THE WORLD REBORN
252 MILLION YEARS AGO
THE WORLD REBORN
The Permian-Triassic extinction — the Great Dying — had just wiped out 90% of all species on Earth. Land, sea, and sky fell silent. The world lay scorched, toxic, and almost completely empty.
SILENCE...
THE GREAT DYING
💥 SURVIVOR COUNT
Only 1 in 10 species made it through. Land, sea, and sky were emptied in less than 60,000 years — a blink in geological time.
In the wreckage of the old world... something small, fast, and hungry began to stir.
"Our time begins NOW."
PAGE 2 OF 5 — THE TRIASSIC WORLD
252–201 MILLION YEARS AGO
THE TRIASSIC PERIOD
One supercontinent. Searing heat. No ice at the poles. No flowers. No grass. Just ferns, cycads, conifers — and the first footsteps of a group that would rule the Earth for the next 165 million years.
THE SUPERCONTINENT
🌍 All land joined into ONE — called Pangaea
🌊 No Atlantic. No Indian Ocean
🏃 You could walk from Antarctica to Norway
📅 Pangaea began cracking apart ~230 Ma
🌊 No Atlantic. No Indian Ocean
🏃 You could walk from Antarctica to Norway
📅 Pangaea began cracking apart ~230 Ma
THE CLIMATE
🌡️ Average temp: 30–40°C — scorching
❄ No polar ice caps whatsoever
🌞 Vast deserts covered the interior of Pangaea
🌧 Monsoon rains only hit the coastal edges
❄ No polar ice caps whatsoever
🌞 Vast deserts covered the interior of Pangaea
🌧 Monsoon rains only hit the coastal edges
THE FIRST PLANTS
🌿 Ferns covered the ground — no grass existed
🌳 Cycads and conifers formed forests
🌸 No flowers — they hadn't evolved yet
🥬 Giant horsetails grew beside rivers
🌳 Cycads and conifers formed forests
🌸 No flowers — they hadn't evolved yet
🥬 Giant horsetails grew beside rivers
PAGE 3 OF 5 — MEET THE FIRST DINOSAURS
SIZE STATS
🔢 EORAPTOR · 230 Ma
Length: ~1 metre
Weight: 5–10 kg
Legs: Bipedal (two legs)
Diet: Small animals & plants
Found: Ischigualasto, Argentina
Weight: 5–10 kg
Legs: Bipedal (two legs)
Diet: Small animals & plants
Found: Ischigualasto, Argentina
WHEN?
📅 First true dinosaurs appeared ~240 Ma
They evolved from small archosaur ancestors in what is now South America — no bigger than a labrador dog.
They evolved from small archosaur ancestors in what is now South America — no bigger than a labrador dog.
THE DAWN PREDATOR
MEET EORAPTOR
Small. Fast. Hungry. Eoraptor lunensis was one of the earliest dinosaurs ever found. It ran upright on two legs — a revolutionary design that gave it speed other reptiles simply couldn't match.
ZOOM!
PAGE 4 OF 5 — THE RIVALS
PANGAEA · ONE WORLD
DINOSAURS WEREN’T ALONE
In the Early Triassic, dinosaurs were NOT the top predators. Giant croc-like reptiles called Rauisuchians — up to 6 metres long — ruled the land. Dinosaurs survived in the margins, small and fast, waiting for their chance.
THE RIVALS
🦓 RAUISUCHIANS
These giant croc cousins were up to 6m long and walked upright. They were the apex predators of the Early Triassic — dinosaurs couldn't compete head-on. Not yet.
COELOPHYSIS
⚡ PACK HUNTER · 210 Ma
By 210 Ma, Coelophysis was one of the most successful early dinosaurs. Sleek, 3m long, possibly hunted in packs. Ghost Ranch, New Mexico has thousands of their fossils.
THE TURNING POINT
🌋 201 MILLION YEARS AGO
Another mass extinction hit. The Rauisuchians, aetosaurs, and phytosaurs were wiped out. Dinosaurs survived — and this time, they inherited the entire planet.
PAGE 5 OF 5 — THE AGE OF DINOSAURS BEGINS
201 MILLION YEARS AGO
THE END-TRIASSIC EXTINCTION
Massive volcanic eruptions opened the Central Atlantic Ocean. Lava poured for 600,000 years. CO₂ choked the sky. Temperatures spiked. The world was on fire — again. 50% of all species vanished.
KA-BOOM!
THE SURVIVORS
🦴 Dinosaurs made it through — their rivals didn't
🌟 The Rauisuchians: GONE
🌟 The Aetosaurs: GONE
🌟 The Phytosaurs: GONE
🦖 Dinosaurs: Still here. Still hungry.
🌟 The Rauisuchians: GONE
🌟 The Aetosaurs: GONE
🌟 The Phytosaurs: GONE
🦖 Dinosaurs: Still here. Still hungry.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
📌 REMEMBER THIS
✦ Triassic lasted 51 million years (252–201 Ma)
✦ First dinosaurs were tiny — under 1 metre
✦ Pangaea began splitting into Laurasia & Gondwana
✦ The end-Triassic extinction gave dinosaurs the world
✦ First dinosaurs were tiny — under 1 metre
✦ Pangaea began splitting into Laurasia & Gondwana
✦ The end-Triassic extinction gave dinosaurs the world
🧠 QUIZ TIME!
TRIASSIC PERIOD: FIRST DINOSAURS · 5 QUESTIONS
QUESTION 01
What was the name of the single supercontinent that all land on Earth formed during the Triassic period?
QUESTION 02
What catastrophic event wiped out 90% of all species on Earth just BEFORE the Triassic period began?
QUESTION 03
Eoraptor is one of the earliest known dinosaurs. Where and when was it discovered, and how big was it?
QUESTION 04
In the Early Triassic, dinosaurs were NOT the dominant predators. Which group of reptiles ruled the land before dinosaurs took over?
QUESTION 05
What event at the END of the Triassic finally allowed dinosaurs to become the dominant animals on Earth?
0/5
LOADING...