Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic

Rush Through the Dark Woods (120 MYA)

Eumeralla Formation, Australia, 120 Million Years Ago

White sparkles of celestial bodies dazzle the night sky. They are the only light seen in a land blanketed with the darkness of Antarctic winter. The vast rift valley here, near modern-day Victoria, connects southern Australia to what is now the South Pole.

The land joining the two continents is made up of freshwater lakes and streams divided by muddy floodplains. These patches of land are covered in lycopods and mosses along with liverworts and grass-like isoetales lying on the edge of the water. These frigid bodies harbor a variety of fish, crayfish, clams, fly larvae, and freshwater horseshoe crabs. Some streams seep into, and cut up another prevalent part of this land, the polar forests.

The canopy of these forests is made up of ginkgo trees, podocarp trees, conifer trees, and tall tree ferns. What would be a mix of greens and browns is tinted in the dark blue of the months-long winter night and bits of white from the occasional frost and snow. Despite this, these woodlands are active with a chorus of tweets, chirps, and trills from avians and buzzing from insects. The floor of this particular patch is covered in dried moss, fungi, dirt, and dead leaves, much of which is covered in a one-inch layer of snow. Compared to the rest of these woods, it is far quieter, and save for a solitary creature scuttling across the ground, is totally sparse of life.

It is a female Leaellynasaura, nicknamed Lea for short. She is a small, two-legged herbivore that reaches a single foot in height and three feet in length. Much of her overall span is made up of a long, flexible tail, half its length curling upward. Her head is small with proportionately large eyes that permit visual clarity in the umbral darkness of the Antarctic winter. This dinosaur's body is covered in downy feathers that allow her to stay warm in a climate of 30 degrees Fahrenheit. This coat is white with black speckles and dark bands on her fluffy tail, only differentiating in color with yellow spots that dot her eyes.

During her rush through these woods, Lea occasionally makes brief stops. In these moments, she softly pans while scanning her surroundings. All she ever finds is the same empty, snow-covered land surrounded by trees. She continues to sprint deeper into the woods.

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Soon, Lea finds her first obstacle, a gently rushing river nearing eight feet in length. The surface is mainly a noticeably light blue with small masses of ice sliding across it. Although Lea is a capable swimmer, the water is simply too cold to traverse. Thus, she travels further downstream in search of a drier way across.

It isn't long before Lea finds just what she needs. A long tree has fallen on the other side of the river. Its trunk stretches just above the waters, covered in moss and bridging both edges of the expansive stream. With careful haste, she hops onto the large log, causing a small creak in the process. A larger animal would quickly break the log in two. However, at only 50 pounds, Lea is more lightweight and not heavy enough to make the trunk snap.

She also employs a different strategy. As she makes her way across the downed tree, she levels out her tail, making it horizontal with her body. This allows her to balance out her weight as she walks across, ensuring she won't slip. It is a strategy she'll need as her eyes start to glimpse something within the water below, something deadly... and hungry.

Resting on the muddy bottom of the river is a freshwater predator called Koolasuchus. Although its name means "Kool's croc," this beast is an amphibian, the last of the ancient temnospondyl branch. Its appearance is much like a giant salamander with a thinner body and a short, paddle-like tail. Four feet grow out of the body of this amphibian, each proportionally small to the rest of its body. Its front feet have four toes connected by a fleshy web while its back feet have five. The most noticeable feature is its wide, rounded head which alone is over two inches long with a mouth full of dozens of rigged fang-like teeth. Its smooth skin is primarily black with faded beige spots all over.