Let's start with the Wild West period of the Mesozoic, the Triassic.
Now the period before this, the Permian, ended with about 80-90% of
all species on Earth dropping dead.
This was the Great Dying, the most devastating mass extinction in
our planet's history.
Now the silver lining in this cloud is that with the board wiped
clean, many other different critters were able to evolve to occupy
the empty niches
Crazy critters too like the Tanystropheus, a reptile with a
neck twice as long as its own body
There's Sharovipteryx, a small reptile that has extended
back legs for gliding
Let's also not forget the Saurosuchus, a giant landcroc that
was the most dominant predator of the early Triassic swamp of
Argentina
This was also when dinosaurs started to evolve. It started with
fairly unassuming forms like Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus.
These initial animals followed a fairly simple base plan: meat
eater, three toed feet, shorter arms than legs, the basic small
theropod body plan
But as time went on, the body plans for these animals became much
more varied and in our next chapter, the Jurassic, we'll see them
really take over the world
Pictured below: Triassic dinosaurs and close relatives
