What Was the Earth Like?

We’ve examined some of the creatures that existed before the dinosaurs, but what was the Earth like way back then?

From 354 to 290 million years ago was the Carboniferous Period. Hot and humid conditions covered the northern landmass, while the southern lands were much colder. Large club mosses, tree ferns, and horsetails grew in swamps and estuaries, along with seed-bearing plants. Some plants were up to 100 feet tall.

The insect population was quite varied, with millipedes, dragonflies, and other bugs. Some flying insects had wingspans up to two feet wide! Around the middle of the period, reptiles evolved as the first land-dwelling animals, and sharks and bony fishes replaced the jawless agnathans and armored placodems in the seas. Starfish, gastropods, sea urchins, and other marine invertebrates flourished on the reefs.

Approximately 350 million years ago, coal forests began to form in wetlands at the edges of continents. The submerged plant matter did not decompose completely and ended up being buried. This eventually transformed into coal.

The early reptiles had similar skeletal features to those of amphibians, but there were differences in their skulls and vertebrae that signified their relationship to later reptiles such as turtles and dinosaurs.

Then came glaciations, a decrease in sea levels, and the formation of Pangaea, when the continents joined together. A minor extinction event of both marine and land life happened at the end of the period due to climate change. This is known as the Carboniferous rainforest collapse.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/9-massive-prehistoric-animals-that-lived-before-dinosaurs/ar-BB1pX9NZ?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=4b29427ca0eb40e9a777238542e8cbdc&ei=39