The Later Reptilian Age (Part Thirty-Eight)

It was 120,000,000 years ago when a new phase of the reptilian age began. The great event of this period was the evolution and decline of the dinosaurs. Land-animal life reached its greatest development, in point of size, and had virtually perished from the face of the earth by th end of this age. The dinosaurs evolved in all sizes from a species less than two feet long up to the huge noncarnivorous dinosaurs, seventy-five feet long, that have never since been equaled in bulk by any living creature. The largest of the dinosaurs originated in western North America. These monstrous reptiles are buried throughout the Rocky Mountain regions, along the whole of the Atlantic coast of North America, over western Europe, South Africa, and India, but not in Australia.rnThese massive creatures became less active and strong as they grew larger and larger; but they required such an enormous amount of food and the land was so overrun by them that they literally starved to death and became extinct—they lacked the intelligence to cope with the situation. By this time most of the eastern part of North America, which had long been elevated, had been leveled down and washed into the Atlantic Ocean so that the coast extended several hundred miles farther out than now.rnThis was a fresh-water age characterized by many inland lakes. The flora of this age consisted of ferns, conifers and pines much like what we have today. The return of the seas improved the weather. Corals spread to European waters, testifying that the climate was mild. The marine life greatly improved and developed. Both corals and crinoids temporarily appeared in larger numbers than heretofore, but the ammonites dominated the invertebrate life of the oceans, their average size ranging from three to four inches, though one species attained a diameter of eight feet. Sponges were everywhere, and both cuttlefish and oysters continued to evolve. (In Memory of Dad)rnQuote: Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. Calvin Coolidge Check out Ms. Oberne’s work, “The Birth of Jesus and Beyond.” FREE to READ available on Apple…https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1550769993