[Animals] This was the Cretaceous period: the era in which climate change ended the dominance of the dinosaurs

[-𝓣𝓐𝓚𝓘]

After millions of years of dinosaur rule, the Cretaceous Period came to change forever the path of evolution on Earth.
It was spring. After a period of prosperity, an asteroid of approximately 180 kilometers in diameter hit the Earth. The blow was inserted in the current Yucatan Peninsula, and caused one of the most devastating ecological imbalances that our planet has faced in history. This period of instability, climate change and mass extinction is known as the Cretaceous Period.

We suggest: Antarctica was a lush jungle full of life 90 million years ago

What are the characteristics of the Cretaceous Period?

The Cretaceous period was "the last segment of the Mesozoic era," explains Live Science. It is historically situated between 145 million years and ending 66 million years ago in Prehistory. Back then, dinosaurs still ruled the Earth's seas and continents.

The name of this period in the Prehistoric comes from 'crete', which translates from Latin as gis. This is due, according to the United States National Park Service, to the impressive chalk deposits that date back to that time. Parallel to the wide diversity of plant and animal species that proliferated on Earth, the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment.

These landmass changes would redefine the natural history of our planet. At that time, the configuration of the continents was changing. This would reshape global geology, as well as the distribution of ecosystems around the world, explains National Geographic History.

Also read: The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs hit Yucatan in spring

What dinosaurs lived at that time?
According to a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by the mid-Cretaceous Period po[CENSORED]tions of insects and flowering plants proliferated. At the same time, angiosperms "diversified rapidly," according to the National Park Service. The institution describes this dizzying diversification as 'mysterious' and 'exquisite'.

Regarding which dinosaurs inhabited the planet, "dominant groups were modified and many new types evolved," explains National Geographic History. Gigantic sauropods, marine reptiles and pterosaurs were the protagonists of the Cretaceous Period, as well as feathered birds and species with abundant fur.

In parallel, pollinating insects propelled the evolution of hundreds of species of flowers and plants. This phenomenon is known as co-evolution, as documented by the Washington Native Plant Society. To a large extent, it was due to the proliferation of wasps and other winged species with stings, which generated, according to researchers in the United States, "an explosion of prehistoric flowers". Some of them are preserved crystallized in amber.

It may interest you: To the rescue of 'Fiona', the only fossil of a pregnant ichthyosaur that exists on the planet

Why did the dinosaurs become extinct?

The asteroid crashing into Earth during the Cretaceous Period wasn't the only reason the dinosaurs went extinct. Much of the mass extinction that occurred in prehistory was due to a series of drastic and vertiginous ecological changes, to which the species were unable to overcome or adapt.

To a large extent, climate change was propelled by the very high concentrations of CO2 that accumulated in the atmosphere. As documented by the Institute of Geology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), these altered levels "caused various transformations in the Earth's biosphere and climate."

Contrary to what is commonly thought, not only the dinosaurs received the consequences of the climate crisis in Prehistory. On the contrary, the cosmic dust of the asteroid blocked the Sun's rays, so that even prehistoric plants succumbed to the hostilities of the environment.

In addition, according to Dr. Fernando Núñez-Useche, from the UNAM Institute of Geology, the CO2 concentrations are also due to the growing volcanic activity that the planet faced. The change began with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. However, "the separation of the resulting continental blocks occurred at an accelerated rate during the Cretaceous", explains the specialist, "which intensified the production of oceanic crust on the seabed and increased submarine volcanic activity".

Are we facing a similar mass extinction today?
In this regard, the UNAM-DGDC Science correspondent, María Luisa Santillán, explains that the contemporary climate crisis is very similar to the changes that occurred back then.

«THE CHANGES THAT OCCURRED DURING THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD ARE THEREFORE AN ANALOG OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING; IN FACT, IT IS CALCULATED THAT IF CO2 EMISSIONS CONTINUE WITHOUT ANY CONTROL AT THE CURRENT RATE, BY THE YEAR 2100 THE CONCENTRATIONS COULD REACH VERY SIMILAR LEVELS”, POINTS OUT THE SPECIALIST.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/periodo-cretacico-historia-caracteristicas/