Exact answer: 165 to 177 million years
Dinosaurs are a type of reptile that lives for a long time. It’s difficult to estimate a dinosaur’s lifespan from its petrified remnants. Many paleontologists believe Apatosaurus and Diplodocus, which were elephant-sized dinosaurs, lived for 70-80 years.
Between 165 to 177 million years, the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. They initially emerged during the Early Triassic. Around 66 million years ago, dinosaurs were extinct. This indicates they’ve been extinct for considerably longer than they’ve been on the planet.
How Long Did Dinosaurs Roam The Earth?
| What happened | When happened |
| Dinosaurs arrival | 243 to 231 million years ago |
| Dinosaurs roam the Earth | 165 to 177 million years |
4.54 billion years ago, the Earth was created. Around 3.5 billion years ago, life first emerged. Dinosaurs lived on the planet for almost 177 million years.
Between 243 to 231 million years ago, dinosaurs first arrived on Earth. They descended from Archosaurs, a group of reptiles. This happened during the Triassic age, which falls within the ‘geological timeframe.’ Dinosaurs lived throughout the Mesozoic era, which is separated into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 to 240 million years ago, in the middle and late Triassic. This was a period of enormous upheaval and transformation. The earliest dinosaurs were thought to be tiny bipedal reptiles with small, grabbing hands that were at least partially predatory. Animals like the diminutive bipedal Eoraptor and the bigger Herrerasaurus were the first real dinosaurs to appear in the fossil record.
The Jurassic Period spanned between 201 million and 145 million years, and dinosaurs were the most common terrestrial animal towards the start of the period. The feather was another major Jurassic Period evolutionary breakthrough. Feathers, a basic filament-like structure, initially emerged in the fossil record around 180 million years ago, albeit they were only found in specific dinosaur taxa, such as the Deinonychosauria.
Why Did Dinosaurs Roam The Earth For So Long?
Dinosaurs were able to roam the Earth for such a long time because their legs were right beneath their trunks. They were able to run far quicker than other creatures of the day because of this. They possessed specific adaptations, like an air-sac system that provided a constant flow of fresh air into their lungs, whether they were breathing or exhaling. They most likely lay a lot more eggs than the mammals, who were their only competition.
They began to become huge after they gained dominance. Growing huge provides several evolutionary benefits, including easier access to prey and protection from predators. This makes it difficult for other animals to become huge since they are competing directly with the habitat’s already massive and dominating inhabitants.
The Cretaceous age, which spanned 145 million to 66 million years ago, was the last and, in some ways, the greatest period of dinosaur supremacy. Although the climate had cooled slightly by this time, the continents had broken away into various landmasses, and most of the globe was still covered in deep forests to the poles, even though the climate had cooled significantly. Dinosaurs grew larger, quicker, and stronger at this time as part of an evolutionary arms race.
The dinosaur era came to a tragic end in the Cretaceous era. Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid collision wiped off around 75 percent of all plant and animal species on the globe, including the last dinosaurs.
The asteroid crashed into the globe with the force of 180 trillion tons of TNT, spewing massive amounts of ash into the atmosphere, disrupting plant photosynthesis for several years. Most huge creatures weighing more than 50 pounds became extinct within a few generations.
Conclusion
Dinosaurs are one of the most successful animal groups that have ever existed. They have controlled the earth for nearly 170 million years, ranging in size from small creatures only a few feet long to some of the largest beasts that have ever walked on the earth.
Dinosaurs can still be found on the surface of the planet. According to scientists, Dinosaurs are birds. Because a branch of dinosaurs began to transform into birds during the Jurassic period, this is the case. Dinosaurs are still alive and thriving now, rather than dying out at the end of the Cretaceous era.