Science and Technology – Live Fast, Die Young: How Long Did Dinosaurs Really Live?

Dinosaurs, at least many of them were, were the largest animals that ever lived on Earth. Paleontologists continue to find more and more remains of these creatures, thanks to which new secrets of their lives are revealed. How long could dinosaurs really live? Write about it Focus on science.

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As you know, almost all dinosaurs disappeared from the face of the Earth as a result of a collision with a huge asteroid about 66 million years ago. And this means that its largest representatives never lived on our planet again.

In the past, paleontologists assumed that it took a long time for dinosaurs to reach gigantic sizes. That is, it has grown slowly over hundreds of years, and maybe more. But, as the new data shows, in fact, dinosaurs grew very quickly and died out at an early (by human standards) age.

To determine the age of dinosaurs, scientists use the same method they use to determine the age of trees. On the trunks of trees, rings can be found, each of which corresponds to a living year. Similarly, approximately the same rings or growth lines can be found in dinosaur bones. The more rings, the older the animal.

For example, scientists have discovered that one of the most famous giant predators on Earth, Tyrannosaurus Rex, reached its maximum size between 16 and 22 years old. But representatives of this species were dying already at the age of 27-33.

And other large ancient carnivorous dinosaurs belonging to the genus Carchadontosaurus could live from 39 to 53 years.

Studies show that the largest dinosaurs on Earth, which had very long necks, such as Brontosaurus and Diplodocus, also died out in their forties and fifties. But there is evidence that some representatives of these ancient animals could live to be 70 years old.

As I already wrote to focus, Scientists finally answered the question, can you really revive dinosaurs. Although Jurassic Park introduced the idea of ​​extracting dinosaur DNA from amber, the truth is that no DNA has ever been found from these prehistoric animals.

also to focus He wrote that, as the study shows, dinosaurs could “see” through each other’s eyes. The scientists’ findings challenge the theory that mammals first evolved these advanced cognitive abilities.