Episode 3: Time of Titans

230 million years ago, a new group of animals arrived on the scene. Nothing, before or after, were like them. They are perhaps the most extraordinary creatures of all time. The dinosaurs. For 160 million years they dominated the Earth. From as far north as Alaska, to as far south as Antarctica. From the plains of Australia, to the forests of America. The dinosaurs were one of lifes great success stories. Now, take a journey back in time and experience their world. The world of these Mesozoic marvels.

Episode 3- Time of Titans

Africa, 150 million years ago. The dinosaurs have the Earth firmly in their claws. The days of small, “insignificant” dinosaurs are long gone. This is a time of titans. Even medium sized dinosaurs are still sizable animals. One example is Kentrosaurus.

Kentrosaurus was a cousin of it’s much more famous and larger relative Stegosaurus. That said, it still measures over 15 feet in length and weighs over 1,500 pounds. These dinosaurs are covered in plates and spines. They even have foot long spikes on each shoulder to guard their flanks.

These stegosaurs like to stick together for protection. They may not be the brightest dinosaurs out there, but instinct tells them there’s safety in numbers. Due to their short height, Kentrosaurus must feed on the low lying ferns and other plants. This herd in particular is feeding in the open plains. Rocky outcrops dot the landscape. The perfect cover for a hungry predator. Enter, Ceratosaurus.

Ceratosaurus was a large and formidable hunter. Adults stretched nearly 26 feet in length and weighed up to 2 tons. The horns they possessed were not weapons. Ceratosaurus’ weapon of choice was it’s 7 inch fangs and terrifying speed of 25 miles per hour.

This lone male Ceratosaurus uses the rocky outcrops to his advantage. Without any trees to hide behind, it’s difficult to sneak up on the Kentrosaurus. Luckily for him, they are near sighted and he’s able to sneak up very closely. The predator zeros in on a juvenile stegosaur. Just as the Ceratosaurus prepares to charge, a pterosaur overhead spots him and screeches in alarm. The Kentrosaurus perk up and scan the horizon for danger. It’s now or never for the Ceratosaurus. He leaps forward with tremendous speed. The juvenile hunkers down and prepares for the attack. But before the Ceratosaurus reaches it, an adult Kentrosaurus swings her tail and drives a spike into the Ceratosaurus’ thigh. The Ceratosaurus roars in pain and backs off. The Kentrosaurus bellow at the retreating predator. Another classic example of how predators fail 9 times out of 10.

Miles away in a lush field surrounded by forest, a herd of sauropods graze on the low lying and mid-sized vegetation. This is Dicraeosaurus.

Dicraeosaurus is an average sized sauropod. Adults are over 50 feet in length and 10 tons in weight when fully grown. Their size is their main weapon. If their size doesn’t work, then they use their whip like tails against their attackers.

This herd is made up of an assortment of adults and juveniles. The young stay near the center of the herd for safety. Although these sauropods are impressive in size, they’re pretty small compared to the true giants of the Jurassic. They’re eventually joined by one such giant. It’s one of the most famous sauropods of all time. Brachiosaurus.

Brachiosaurus isn’t just big, it’s huge! This titan measures over 85 feet long, stands over 40 feet tall, and weighs in the ballpark of 50 tons! Their size alone makes them nearly invincible.

The Dicraeosaurus look up to see the towering beast. The Brachiosaurus moves to the edge of the forest and begins to browse on the tree tops. The smaller sauropods begin to feed again. The peace will not last though.

Hiding amongst the trees is a pack of Ceratosaurus. It’s rather large compared to most packs with 6 members in all. The alpha male turns to look at his mate. His nose horn changes from dull brown to bright red in anticipation for the attack. The other Ceratosaurus’ nose horns change as well, although the colors aren’t quite as bright as the alphas. The predators begin to break off into 3 teams of 2. They start to surround the sauropods in the field. The Brachiosaurus is too big to take down. They target the Dicraeosaurus instead. With a loud roar, the alpha signals to the rest of the pack that the hunt is on. The Brachiosaurus watches as the Dicraeosaurus herd scatters and the pack of Ceratosaurus’ weave in and out among the fleeing sauropods. Because they aren’t quite as big as other sauropods, the Dicraeosaurus can move at a good pace for 10 ton animals. The ceratosaurs manage to separate sick individual. The predators get between the sauropod and it’s herd. The Brachiosaurus starts to wander off as the Ceratosaurus’ attack. The leap on the sides of the sauropod and dig in with their claws. Then, they start to carve off chunks of flesh with their oversized teeth. Time after time, the Ceratosaurus tear off chunks of flesh and slash the thick hide wide open. The Dicraeosaurus bellows in pain. Finally, after a grueling 2 hours, he succombs to his injuries. The alpha male Ceratosaurus roars in victory. A younger male attempts to take the first bite, but the alpha quickly stops this by smacking the young male across the face with his hand claws. The younger Ceratosaurus backs off as blood streams down his face. The first bite belongs to the alphas. After things calm down a bit, the rest of the pack moves in to feed. They won’t have to hunt again for weeks.

A few months pass. The dry season is here. Most of the easy prey has left. The Ceratosaurus pack has had to resort to scavenging. They need fresh meat and soon. After about an hour of tracking, they find something. As they come to a dead end in a canyon, they find their target. It’s the Brachiosaurus. The sauropod was following the canyon looking for water until it came to a dead end. With both ways blocked, he has no choice but to stand and fight. The Ceratosaurus roar at the towering giant. Then, the young male leaps forward recklessly. The Brachiosaurus rears up and crushes the Ceratosaurus like a bug. The alpha male watches as his subordinate twitches and convulsed, then dies. The alpha male growls toward the other ceratosaurs, then turns and leaves. He has an idea. While the rest of the pack holds the sauropod at bay, he’ll climb to the top of the canyon wall and leap onto the back of the unsuspecting Brachiosaurus. He reaches the top and looks down at the scene below. The pack is roaring loudly at the sauropod and the Brachiosaurus is bellowing back. As he prepares to jump on the Brachiosaurus 50 feet below, the ground starts to crumble below him. The Ceratosaurus loses his footing and falls. Dozens of boulders fall after him. The pack and Brachiosaurus look up to see the alpha and rocks falling down on them. The canyon is too tight for the dinosaurs to escape and all of them are buried alive.

This time of titans is coming to a close. The continents will break apart even more and dinosaurs will go along for the ride. Soon, the Cretaceous will arrive, and with it, some truly terrifying creatures. Europe for example will see the introduction of menacing medieval monsters.

Next Week on Mesozic Marvels

We journey to Europe 125 million years ago. Dinosaurs roam all across the continent. And some of them are terrifying. True medival monsters.

PS- This episode was just in time for Day of the Dinosaur ;)