What If You Were Alive 200 Million Years Ago

WHAT IF

Transcript

00:00 This is the world 200 million years ago.

00:07 No cell phones, electricity, or even other humans.

00:12 Would you be able to survive in this new world?

00:15 Could you get yourself a pet dinosaur?

00:17 Wait, dinosaurs are here?

00:19 Okay, maybe this won't be so bad.

00:22 This is WHAT IF,

00:23 and here's what would happen

00:25 if you were alive 200 million years ago.

00:28 The world was pretty different during the late Triassic period.

00:31 One of the most notable differences is this right here.

00:35 This is Pangaea,

00:37 a supercontinent containing different parts of today's world.

00:40 There's Australia down south,

00:42 North America in the northwest,

00:45 and Eurasia in the east,

00:46 all interconnected.

00:48 It would take you a while, but in theory,

00:50 you could walk from California to France.

00:54 You won't see the Hollywood Walk of Fame,

00:56 or see the Eiffel Tower, as

00:57 they don't exist yet.

00:59 What would you see?

01:03 The first thing you'd notice as you're traveling across Pangaea

01:06 are all the dinosaurs running about.

01:08 You won't have to worry about dinosaurs such as the Delong

01:11 that weigh only 11 kg (3.5 lbs).

01:13 They won't pose much of a threat.

01:15 But watch out for the Melanourasaurus,

01:17 who has a height of 12 m (6 ft)

01:19 and would find you to be a tasty snack.

01:22 Scientists say that the late Triassic period

01:24 was the dawn of the first dinosaurs.

01:26 Dinosaurs of all sizes would be everywhere.

01:29 You'd also see some other crazy creatures

01:31 you've never seen before,

01:33 and some that may remind you of animals you see today.

01:36 This species, known as the Drapanosaurus,

01:38 with its reptile-like skin and arched back,

01:41 might be one of the first versions of birds to ever exist.

01:44 The Triassic period was an incredibly important

01:47 50 million years of evolution,

01:49 a time with not a lot of competition between species,

01:52 since just prior to this period,

01:53 70% of Earth's creatures were wiped out

01:56 in a mass extinction event.

01:58 Many of the animals at the time were able to thrive and grow

02:01 without having to be constantly wary of other predators.

02:05 The further you travel inland into Pangaea,

02:07 you'll notice the massive weather changes.

02:10 The outer edges of the supercontinent

02:11 may be full of lush forests and green grass,

02:14 but the further you go in, that begins to change.

02:17 Scientists suspect that much of Pangaea

02:19 was a dry, desert wasteland.

02:21 That's because the land mass was so large

02:24 that the interior wouldn't have received

02:25 the cooling effects of the ocean.

02:27 Speaking of which, the ocean, known as Panthlassa,

02:30 surrounded all of Pangaea,

02:32 and covered 70% of Earth's surface.

02:35 This ocean was extremely deadly.

02:37 It could easily produce super hurricanes and monsoons,

02:40 and due to its massive size,

02:42 they could gain enough momentum

02:44 to hit Pangaea with potentially fatal weather.

02:47 Pangaea was just beginning to separate 200 million years ago.

02:51 If you were able to stick around a few million more years

02:53 for the Jurassic period,

02:55 that's when you'd truly see dinosaurs thrive.

02:57 The T-Rex, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus.

03:01 What would happen if they were still alive today?

03:04 Well, that sounds like a question for another WHAT IF.

03:07 ♪♪

03:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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