How Dinosaurs Might Have Changed If They Had Survived

Dinosaurs would have remained the dominant species if the infamous asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs had slightly altered its route. For them, evolution would have taken a different course. Humans may not have evolved to be at the top of the food chain during those millions of years. We would have to compete with dinosaurs if they had evolved at the same rate as humans. But how hazardous would they be to humans, and what would they look like?

Dinosaurs are some of the most fascinating creatures to have ever walked the Earth. It's a shame that we won't be able to have Jurassic Park, where we can see some of the coolest creatures come to life. But we are actually living with some creatures that are just as old as dinosaurs, such as crocodiles and sharks. They haven't changed much since they appeared millions of years ago. But most dinosaurs didn't make it when the asteroids struck Earth. In a way, the asteroid was a giant reset button for the planet.

After hitting Earth, this space traveler wiped out almost every living thing. The sky was covered with ash, which blocked out sun rays and meant that plants couldn't grow, which made a lot of herbivores really hungry. As a result, they had to change their diet and adapt to the new changes, which allowed some of those dinosaurs to take on a new path in life, turning into some of the modern animals we know today.

If the asteroid had changed its course just a bit, then dinosaurs would have remained the dominant species, so what would have happened if dinosaurs had stuck around? Well, first of all, evolution would have played out differently for them. Maybe during those millions of years, humans would not have evolved to be on top of the food chain.

Imagine a world where dinosaurs still exist today. If dinosaurs had evolved as humans did, then we'd have to compete with them. There were multiple species of humans, but Homo sapiens, also known as us. A humanoid, dinosaur, or dinoid would be unusual since they would appear different and more reptilian than we do. Putting a human and a dinosaur side by side would be interesting for several reasons, including the fact that dinos would have scales instead of human skin, sharper teeth, probably fewer fingers on each hand, and sharp claws for nails. We also don't know what their voices would sound like, but they might be guttural like crocodiles, and dinosaurs had much better vision than humans did at the time.

With an astounding 8 billion people on Earth, we have altered the ecosystem to suit our demands, but if dinosaurs were the dominant species, the environment would be suitable for them. Speaking of physical characteristics, scientists made predictions about how dinosaurs would look if they had evolved into intelligent beings that walked upright and had opposable thumbs. These wiggling thumbs are crucial for evolution because they allowed humans to begin using tools for self-defense and hunting.

The creature may not look like the ideal reptile, and its appearance might not be flattering, but if dinosaurs had evolved, these creatures could have been your classmates.

While others resemble any modern day animal, the biggest land walking dinosaur was the Titanosaur, although the measurements are only rough estimates based on fossilized bones. It's estimated that this dinosaur was around 122 feet long and lived between 195 and 196 million years ago. It was so massive that its weight was equivalent to that of 18 modern day elephants.

There were dinosaurs all over the world in different time areas, climates, and landscapes; however, only a handful were known as giants, and though they excelled in body size, they lacked in brain size. Some of the most well-known dinosaurs, like the Allosaurus and Stegosaurus, had very small brains, which means it would have been nearly impossible for them to properly evolve into intelligent beings. Tell me about it. But in the late Cretaceous period, when the T-Rex roamed the land, it had larger brains than its Allosaurus counterparts, which were millions of years behind. Even so the T-Rex's brain only weighed just under a pound; a human brain is nearly three pounds. It might have been cool to see a T-Rex evolve into an intelligent being with opposable thumbs on its tiny stick hand.

Contrary to popular belief, the T-Rex was actually quite slow, and a human could have easily outrun it, so we know that these days they wouldn't belong in any competitive sports that involve running. We know that dinosaurs could be herbivores or carnivores, but throughout the revolution one thing remained the same: they had small brains. Other forms of dinosaurs were around too, such as long-legged and horned dinosaurs. Either way, they were on top of the food chain even when little mammals had Cameo appearances. We have to consider that when the asteroids dropped and wiped out dinosaurs mammals took over the scene.

The world today would be entirely different from what it is today if dinosaurs and mammals had shared the top spot in the food chain and had evolved along similar lines. Dinosaurs would have had larger brains and would have challenged humans for the title of the smartest creature. One of the reasons humans and parrots can communicate is due to the strength and shape of our tongues. If dinosaurs wanted to speak like humans, they would have needed a different type of skull designed to accommodate such a tongue.

Another reason humans have survived is because we evolved the ability to stand up straight to identify predators. But what would dinosaurs need to overcome if they were already tethered to the earth? Their evolutionary path would have been very different from that of humans and possibly even more advanced because dinosaurs had long legs, which allowed them to run quickly, detect predators, and grab food that would otherwise be out of reach.

Their brains may have evolved into something impressive, making them smarter than us and having quicker reflexes. Imagine that dinosaurs discovered gravity before Isaac Newton or that they could write plays and poems better than William Shakespeare. Music and film would be based on dinosaur culture, and clothing would have an otherworldly appearance. Dinosaurs and humans would coexist peacefully, but we would compete with them. Dinosaurs and humans would compete for their respective national teams in the World Cup, but only dinosaurs or humans would be allowed to play for clubs.

Dinosaurs would fill more physically demanding jobs like those of workers and security guards, and some professions would have only one species dominating them.

Dinosaurs will eventually rule the earth since they were physically superior to humans and had more advantages. On the other hand, humanity would have to find a means to keep up. Though humans are the smartest animals on the planet, we don't have the biggest brains. Animals like orcas, elephants, and other apes have bigger brains, so why are we smarter than them? The answer is that we don't know. The brain is the most complex organ we have, and we know so little about it. Dinosaurs and mammals had a different path of evolution, where they never became gigantic beasts as dinosaurs did, but instead their brains developed and grew big.

Some scientists contend that the dinosaurs depicted in movies aren't entirely accurate and that they once had feathers. In terms of evolution, some small, feathered dinosaurs may have followed the path of primates, evolving into a primate that lives in trees or even into a different species of human.