Why We Don’t See Dinosaur Bones Everywhere

If dinosaurs once ruled the Earth, it seems like we should stumble upon their bones everywhere. But we do not. Why is that? Aren't you curious? There's no conspiracy here. The truth is that the quest to find Dino remains is much more complex than meets the eye. Yes, dinosaur bones are real. We have found tons of them, and they've been uncovered on every continent. Despite many people arguing otherwise, the uneven distribution of these prehistoric treasures is simply a quirk of nature. It turns out fossilization is an incredibly rare phenomenon. It only happens under specific conditions.

When a dino bites the dust, the journey to fossilization begins. The carcass needs swift burial by sediment, followed by layers upon layers, creating a geological pressure cooker. Minerals sneak into the bones, morphing them into stone. This unique recipe predominantly occurs underwater, where sediments like sand and mud can gracefully cloak the fallen giants. This is why dinos meeting their end above ground rarely end up as fossils. For example, we barely find any fossils of species that lived in the jungle, and especially in the mountains. Researchers reveal that many fossils arise from areas near lakes or rivers. Whether drowned before a flood or carried away by rain, these dinosaurs lucked out in fossil formation.

These are the reasons why we don't discover dinos in every nook and cranny. The harsh reality is that we might never meet many dino species, all because of these limitations of fossilization. Around 71% of dinosaurs will never be discovered. We don't even know how many species we've lost due to unsuitable conditions. If we're super lucky, we might find some fossils of mountain dinosaurs and local river-dwelling species, but that's a very rare case. So yes, while dinosaurs graced the globe, all the fossils we found so far were due to great luck.

Now, this makes you wonder how many dinosaurs lived in general. There are myths about them leading a tortoise-paced life. People believe that dinos were sauntering through centuries to achieve colossal sizes. Funny enough, the truth is exactly the opposite. In reality, dinosaurs lived short lives and shone bright like rock stars. Unfortunately, once these animals hit the prime of reproduction, they often found themselves on the fast track to fossilization before reaching their full size potential. What's interesting is that dinosaur life cycles align with the rhythm of trees. Perhaps you know that it's possible to determine how long a tree lived by its rings. It's true. Each pair of light and dark rings equals one year of age.

Like the rings tell us about trees, dino bones tell us about them. Researchers examine slices of bones under a microscope, analyzing different tissues to gauge growth rates. Thick rings mean rapid growth, and narrow ones mean a more leisurely pace. In the animal kingdom, bigger usually equals longer life. So some people wonder whether big dinos actually lived longer. Apparently so. Large sauropod dinosaurs, akin to ancient behemoths, likely took around 30 to 35 years to reach their colossal peak. Following that, they might have enjoyed a few more decades on the prehistoric stage. For smaller dinosaurs like the nimble ornithopods, life was a swift affair. They grew to their full size after around four to five years of life, but after a mere three to four years, these mini dinos, unless super fortunate, might have bid adieu. So it turns out many dinosaurs didn't live for hundreds of years. Most of them, even colossal ones, rarely made it to their 50s.

It's a surprise if you compare them to today's giants like blue whales and elephants. These animals boast human-like lifespans. Blue whales live for around 80 to 90 years, and many elephants make it to their 60s to 70s, and they're not as big as some dinosaurs. It's a pity that they left our planet so early, and we don't have a chance to study so many of them.

What's even sadder is that dinosaurs have been doomed from the beginning. Even if a random cosmic rock hadn't hit our planet, dinosaurs would still have gone extinct by today. The Chicxulub meteorite smashed into our planet 66 million years ago. For the record, it didn't actually destroy all the dinosaurs, only the non-avian ones. The rest became birds. Yep, some of these colossal creatures became the tiny chickens and pigeons we see today. Yes, they know what wolves might feel like. But even before that happened, the Earth was slowly preparing a catastrophe for them. Recent research shows that the era before the asteroid impact wasn't exactly a paradise. It was more like a brewing cauldron of environmental challenges.

Scientists delved into the Deccan Traps, one of the largest volcanic regions in present-day West India. They came up with an innovative technique to study the past through volcanoes by measuring sulfur concentrations in rocks. That's how they learned that the Deccan Traps, spewing millions of cubic miles of molten rock, contributed to global climate shifts over 100,000 years before the infamous Chicxulub meteor struck. Global temperatures might have plummeted by several degrees. The sudden drop was most likely triggered by sulfur emissions from the Deccan Traps, which in turn led to pretty wild, unpleasant climate conditions. The Earth ended up experiencing volcanic winters. This made life super challenging for flora and fauna and set the stage for the eventual dinosaur extinction.

So even if there was no asteroid, dinos wouldn't survive for too long. For a long time, scientists have been arguing whether it was the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs or the volcanic activity. Finally, technology is developing, and we can use it to answer this question. An AI system developed by researchers offers its own perspective. Using over 100 processors fed with geological and climatic data, the AI explored the fossil records and over 300,000 possible scenarios to find the truth. According to the machine, the volcanic theory is far more plausible. It told the scientists that the climate changes required for a mass extinction were likely caused by the Deccan Traps alone. Even without the asteroid impact, the volcanic eruptions coincided with the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, starting 300,000 years before the asteroid and continuing for an extended period.

This raises some questions about human versus AI judgment. Some scientists expressed skepticism and talked about the AI's potential bias. But the researchers who led the project are excited about the novelty of their method and its potential to explore other periods of Earth's history. However, it will likely take some time for humans to build trust in AI.

We already mentioned that non-avian dinosaurs survived this apocalyptic event. For some reason, neither volcanoes nor an asteroid wiped out everything on our planet. Many animals survived, evolving into mammals, and many plants continued to flourish. Plants went through this even better than animals. Actually, a catastrophe bid farewell to about 75% of Earth's species, not to count all the individual losses. Yet botanical wonders survived. Around 78% of our plant species owe their existence to their persistent ancestors.

Unfortunately, plants don't turn into fossils as easily as animals do, and we already know that this process isn't quick or common either. So the researchers had to turn to evolutionary trees. They analyzed up to 73,000 surviving plant species. The findings revealed a remarkable narrative of evolution and dominance. It turns out, after the great extinction, these sneaky plants seized the opportunity, just like mammals who rose to prominence after the dinosaur era. Major orders like those of mint, magnolia, and orchids not only coexisted with dinosaurs but thrived beyond the extinction. The secret to their success lies in how they could adapt for pollination. They didn't care whether they were pollinated by wind, insects, or anything else, basically eating resources from anywhere they could find. Thanks to this awesome adaptability, which scientists call flower power, their legacy lives and flourishes today.

That's it for today! So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends. Or, if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.