Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic

Slayers of the Gargantuan (116 MYA)

Twin Mountains Formation, Texas, 116 Million Years ago

    In what will one day be the United States, lies the land of Texas. It rests on the southernmost part of what is now the Great Plains of North America. Although an area with a greatly diverse range of environments, it's most known for its dry deserts which are among the hottest parts of the continent.

    In the early half of the Cretaceous, the heat is still ever present. It's only the land it encapsulates that is different from today. The semi-arid landscape of today is dominated by damp, lush areas. Canopies of conifers, including the ancestors of modern pine and fir trees, sprout out at staggering heights. Encapsulated by the shadows this thick forestry casts is a floor almost entirely blanketed by ferns and cycads. All these varying types of vegetation create a display of varying green hues.

    Trees and lower vegetation alike become less frequent around the many rivers that divide this lush land. Gently, water flows through these streams, with slick, wet earth bordering them and dry land. Some of the liquid also lies still in puddles near these river edges.

    This life-giving liquid doesn't just come from nowhere. Rather it's the one that has, is still being granted by nature itself. A gift actively being sent down from the heavens.

    Above this land, dark gray clouds clutter the mid-morning sky. These puffs of vapor are so thick that even the sun has yet to penetrate it fully. From this aerial shroud, water descends onto the land below in the form of a light drizzle.

    Through this weather phenomenon, life in all its forms from plant to animal is given much-needed nourishment. However, as the clouds slowly fade and break apart, the rate of drops falling is severely reduced. So much so that the rainfall seen is only a mere soft sprinkle. It's so light that it fails to fully replenish the already shrinking river. No longer is water rushing through, but calmly resting in the stream and smaller, isolated pools around it. Even the wet ground around them has become dry and cracked. The warm, humid air remains heavy with moisture, but heat gradually increases in wake of the cause of such drought, the dry season. What little rain is pouring here will be the last to be seen for nearly four months.

    The scarcity of such a vital resource inevitably attracts the attention of the local fauna. Dragonflies buzz through the humid air, adding droning buzzes to the ambiance. Various small mammals scurry through the lower vegetation here, drinking what's left of the water and eating up whatever dragonflies or other insects they can catch. Lizards do the same thing, just without the chirps and squeaks made by the mammals. Instead, they're primarily silent; the only sounds they make are footsteps in the mud and rustling through the greenery.

    Other organisms had gathered here to take advantage of this vital source while they could. These are the dominant lifeforms, not just in North America, but in the rest of the globe. They are dinosaurs.

    The smallest of them is a kind of bipedal herbivore called Convolosaurus. These are fast, agile creatures as reflected by the long, slender hind limbs carrying their compact, muscular bodies. Forelimbs are present too but are much shorter yet end in five-fingered hands with blunt claws suitable for foraging and manipulating vegetation. A long, still tail balances out their forms, adding to a combined length of 10 feet. Their small, elegant heads have a pointed, keratinous beak which is well-suited for cropping tough, fibrous plants. Inside their mouths, compact, leaf-shaped teeth effectively grind up whatever vegetation they consume. Two large eyes positioned on the sides of their heads help to give them a wide field of vision. Their bodies are coated in forest green, hair-like feathers with a pattern of horizontal russet brown streaks mottle all over. Smooth, scaly skin is seen on their faces, hands, feet, and tails, primarily coated in light gray.