Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic

A Mad Dash (122 MYA)

Ilek Formation, Russia, 122 Million Years Ago

The arrival of the morning sun brings with it a spill of golden rays. This shine brings a soft glow to the sky and the land below. It also mixes with the abundance of fog to create a soft haze. This light gray mix appears as a vast sea from which many forest trees stick out.

Even in modern times, such woods are a plentiful aspect of Siberia. In the early Cretaceous, it was much warmer and more humid. This change from the 53-degree, permafrost-ridden landscape allows these forests to grow abundantly.

Primarily, these canopies comprise deciduous and conifer trees, each varying in height and growth stage. Below lies a floor of ferns, cycads, and moss, bathed by a pattern of shadow and soft, dappled light. Much of this greenery is soaked in tears of morning dew, gently dragging downward by the pull of gravity. Vibrant greens and browns are sometimes blocked out by thicker patches of fog that float through.

The thickest of this midst still can't hide much of the wildlife that dwells here. Just like in modern Siberia, mammals play a part in this ecosystem. Although, they're much smaller at this point. They have yet to reach the diversity they'd achieve after the fall of the dinosaurs. Thus, they're mainly small and rodent-like, adding squeaks and chirps to the forest ambiance.

Another familiar resident in these woods are birds. By this point in the Cretaceous, they've only recently occurred, but are well on their way to becoming a common occurrence in forests like here in Russia. Their chirps, tweets, and other calls are similar to those heard in their modern descendants.

Also present here is a variety of insect life. Mosquitos dart and hover through the air, filling it with their signature high-pitched buzzes. Much of it is quickly silent as they gradually get picked off by much larger dragonflies. Crickets are another noisy neighbor to these woods, their chirps reverberating throughout. Millipedes silently crawl among the forest floor, only ever rustling the dead plant matter they tread over.

These and many other insects are the preferred food of the ancient mammalian population. In addition, they're also fed on by ancient salamanders. These stand out wildly thanks to the bright skin colors each species sports. Such adaptations won't aid them in hiding from predators, but they do signal their poisonous nature.

All these forms of lesser life are towered over by one common animal here. It steps across the forest floor, adding many coos, hoots, trills, and chirps to the symphony of natural noises. It may seem large to the many insects, salamanders, and even mammals, but it's overall, somewhat small.

This is Ivan, a Siberian Psittacosaurus. He is a type of dinosaur that inhabits much of central Asia, including China, Mongolia, and Thailand. Although, it's here in southwestern Russia that his kind grows the biggest, at 8 feet in length.

As a type of ceratopsian, he's an ancestor of the many horned dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous, most famously Triceratops. Unlike his famous descendants, he takes a more bipedal stance rather than a quadrupedal one. This is thanks to his hind legs being strong and muscular, capable of holding his robust body and moving at quick speeds. His forelimbs are shorter, ending in hands with distinct fingers. A short, thick tail helps to balance out his sturdy form. In the middle of this appendage is a series of long, stiff, bristle-like quills. They're a golden yellow and slouch backward, looking almost like tall grass.

His head is proportionately large and triangular when viewed from above, having a broad rear and a robust snout. The front forms a sharp, toothless beak, a key feature for a dinosaur whose name means "parrot lizard." Hidden behind this beak and in his cheeks are rows of small, tightly-packed, leaf-shaped teeth, perfectly built for shredding plant matter with side-to-side chewing motions. Unlike his later relatives such as Triceratops, Ivan lacks prominent brown horns and a frill. He does, however, have low ridges above his eyes, something unique to this Russian species of Psittacosaurus. One trait he shares universally with other species is the spike-like structures that protrude from each of his cheeks. As a male, the tips of these bony extensions are colored in the same golden yellow as his quills. The other colors adorn his scaly-skinned body are mainly a light brown with black mottling all over. The same black is very prominently shown on much of his face behind his beak. This includes his nose, cheeks, and right under his large, expressive eyes. In contrast, his underside is a much paler shade of creamy beige.