Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic

Born From Fire (168 MYA)

Taynton Limestone Formation, England, 168 Million Years Ago

Oxfordshire is known for grassy slopes, chalk streams, and beech woodlands. Here in the middle Jurassic, it's a much more tropical area lying on the coast of Europe's ancient Tethys Sea. The beaches are made up of bright beige sand partly covered by the clear blue ocean waters. This seashore borders a lush forest, one filled with enough ginkgo and araucaria trees that the floor is hidden from a bird's eye view. Below the thick canopy, partly illuminated by fading yellowish-orange daylight, is a thick bed of lush ferns, cycads, and fern-like seed plants. This blanket of vegetation hides a sandy ground plagued with brown, decayed leaves, and other bits of plant matter. Parts of sea water seep into some areas creating small rivers of salt water. Shades of green from the forestry and phosphorescent blue from the oceanic water are instead tainted in gray from the slowly approaching night.

Despite this increasing lack of daylight, life still thrives. The water is populated by fish that occasionally creep in from the sea. Most commonly, the ocean visitors are deep-bodied, ray-finned fish and elongated lungfish. Insects populate the ferns and the air around them, primarily flying beetles and damselflies. The biggest are giant cicadas, each growing upwards of 2 inches in length. It is the wings of these bugs that create buzzing noises throughout the forest.

There are also low booms and creaking groans that echo across this lush land. These come from the area's largest residents, whose elongated necks hold their small heads up so high, that they peer just through the canopy. They are Cetiosaurus, English members of the sauropod family and the first of the group to have their remains discovered by modern scientists. These 12-ton animals measure up to 60 feet from head to tail, making them more than worthy of a name that means "whale lizard." They stand on four tall, pillar-like legs that lift their large bodies 10 feet high at the shoulder. Their scaly skin is mainly dark, bluish-gray, covered with various black streaks as well as a solid white underbelly. Primarily, their are days around trees, stripping them of their greenery which is then sent down to their stomachs via their long necks.

Amongst the ferns below creeps something much smaller with a diet geared toward meat. It is a compact, lightly built predator that stands at a length of 12 feet. Called Proceratosaurus, it is one of the smaller carnivores that live in England at this time. Its body is slender and lightweight at 90 pounds, carried by thin legs that lift it 3 feet off the ground. Like all theropods its size, it has a long, stiff tail that acts as a counterbalance. Its arms are relatively small, the hands of which have three fingers adorned with sharp claws. What makes it stand out, however, is a thin crest that emerges from the top of its snout. It is shaped like a boot and colored in a mix of black, blue, and purple, a sign that it's a male. Hair-like feathers cover much of its body, the color of which is primarily beige-red with a series of vertical black stripes throughout. Only its face, feet, and hands lack these feathers, revealing pale yellow scaly skin.

While it may be too small to prey on the likes of Cetiosaurus, the Proceratosaurus is still content with catching flying insects and the occasional fish. Soon, he gets lucky and manages to trap a single lungfish in his mouth. However, rather than eating it right there by the small stream, he instead carries it with him deeper into the forest. The smell of any fresh kill is enough to lure other carnivores, especially bigger ones that can easily bully it out of the Proceratosaurus. Therefore, he'll only feast on his meal once he truly knows that it's safe and alone.

And so, the predator swiftly dashes away, his long slender legs carrying it faster than any animal around him. With great agility and little effort, he's able to maneuver around the trees in his environment even at top speed. However, his focus isn't entirely on what's ahead of him. Instead, the small carnivore periodically moves his head from side to side and even backward, constantly on the watch for rival predators. Fortunately, the coast is clear, but he'll soon discover the consequences of his lack of attention to what's in front of him.