For many of us, the world of ancient animals is represented by dinosaur herds or, in extreme cases, mammoths. In fact, it is much more diverse and fantastic. Our planet was inhabited by millions of creatures, most of which disappeared forever from the face of the Earth, leaving to our memory only their fossil remains, petrified tracks, drawings of ancient people or nothing at all. But each of them served as a brick of the great kingdom, called flora and fauna.
Fantastic animals
Ancient animals began their existence in the form of spineless microorganisms long before the appearance of a rational man. So the official science says. Unofficial, based on hundreds of artifacts found in different parts of the Earth, believes that before the advent of our civilization there were others, no less developed than we. Of course, then lived not only people, but also animals. What they were, it is almost impossible to determine. The only thing left of them is a mention in the oldest manuscripts and myths about all sorts of dragons, elves, incredible monsters, unicorns. However, there is the only museum in the world where the exhibits are real, as claimed by its employees, the remains of unicorns, mermaids and other strange creatures. There are among them fragments of dragons, mermaids, mythical double-headed snakes and other monsters, extracted by archeologists-enthusiasts from the depths of the Earth.
How it all began
The official science of paleontology adheres to the theory that life originated in the Precambrian period. This is the most impressive period of time, which accounts for 90% of the lifespan of all living things. It lasted almost 5 billion years, from the beginning of the formation of the Earth to Cambria. At first on our planet there was no atmosphere, no water, nothing, not even volcanoes.
Gloomy and lifeless, she silently rushed in its orbit. This period is called Katarhei. 4 billion years ago it was replaced by Archaea, which was marked by the appearance of an atmosphere, however, practically without oxygen. At the same time, the first seas appeared, which were acid-salt solutions. In these terrible conditions, life began. The most ancient animal of the Earth is cyanobacteria. They lived in colonies, forming films or layered mats on the substrate. Memory of them - calcareous stromatolites.
Continued development of life
Archaean lasted 1.5 billion years. Cyanobacteria filled the atmosphere with oxygen and provided the appearance of hundreds of new species of microorganisms, due to the vital activity of which we have deposits of minerals.
Approximately 540 million years ago Cambrian began, lasting 55-56 million years. His first era is Paleozoic. This Greek word means "ancient life" ("paleozoic"). In Paleozoi, the first and only
Continent of Gondwana. The climate was warm, close to the subtropical, which was ideal for the development of life. Then it existed mainly in the water. Its representatives were not only unicellular, but also whole systems of algae, polyps, corals, hydras, ancient sponges and other things. These ancient animals gradually ate all those who formed stromatolites. In the same period, they began to develop land.
Ancient plants
It is believed that the first to "land" on the plant. At first, these were the algae of the shallow water that drifted from time to time. Blue-green algae are considered the first plants on the planet. They were replaced by psilophytes. They did not have roots yet, but there were already tissues that carried water and nutrients through the cells. Then came horsetails, mosses and ferns. In size, these plants were real giants, with a height of 10-storey house. In their forests it was gloomy and very humid. The first gymnosperms did not originate from ferns, but from fern-like ones, which already had roots, bark, core and crown. During the glaciation the ancestors of gymnosperms became extinct. Angiosperms appeared in the Cretaceous period. They significantly pushed their ancestors - gymnosperms, changing the face of the planet and becoming the ruling class.
The first sunrise and the first sunset
The appearance of plants on land contributed to the emergence and development of insects. The most ancient animal of the land is arachnids, whose bright representative is the armor spider. Later appeared winged insects, and then amphibians. By the end of the Paleozoic reptilians dominated on land, which had very impressive dimensions. Among them are three meter long paraeazaurs, pelicosaurs that grew to 6.5 meters, terapsids. The latter were the most numerous class, which had in its ranks and small representatives, and giants. Approximately 252 million years ago, a worldwide natural disaster occurred, resulting in the complete disappearance of 70% of all land animals, 96% of marine life and 83% of insects. It happened in the Perm period. They ended with Paleozoic and began with Mesozoic. It lasted an entire 185-186 million years. In Mesozoic are Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Ancient animals and plants that survived the catastrophe continued to develop. From the second half of the Triassic to the end of the Mesozoic, the dominant positions were occupied by dinosaurs.
Lord of the Dinosaurs
These reptiles numbered more than a thousand species, the remains of ancient animals help establish and study them. The very first dinosaur is considered to be the stryker, whose body length was less than a meter, and the weight is about 30 kg. Later, there appeared an erorazaurus, eoraptor, plesiosaurus, tyrannosaurus and others. They fully mastered the land, the world's ocean, climbed into the air. The most famous of the flying pangolins is the pterodactyl. There were many kinds of them, from babies the size of sparrows to giants with wingspan of 12-13 meters. They ate fish, insects and their fellow humans. In 1964, during the excavations, the remains of a creature called the Deinonych were found. It was the first warm-blooded dinosaur. Supposedly he was an ancestor of birds, since he had feathers.
Dinosaurs are amazing ancient animals. Many consider them stupid and primitive, but they were able not only to lay eggs, but also to sit them out, care for their offspring, protecting and educating their children. And pelicosaurs were the first parents of the first mammals.
The Kingdom of Mammals
Approximately 65 million years ago, at the end of the Mesozoic, another terrible catastrophe occurred, as a result of which all dinosaurs died out. Also, most species of mollusks, aquatic reptiles, and plants have disappeared. And again the death of some gave rise to the emergence and development of others. The warm-blooded mammals have undergone a long evolution and gradually settled all the natural niches. It happened in the Cainozoic, which replaced Mesozoic. In his Quaternary period, continuing now, a man appeared. Ancient animals The lands that survived natural disasters were exterminated by primitive people at the dawn of mankind and a rational man in the recent past. Thus, by the year 1500, all moa birds were killed. At the end of the 17th century dodo, dodo, tour, wandering pigeons ceased to exist . In the 18th century, the last sea cow was killed . In the 19th, the last quagga resembling a zebra died, and in the 20th the Tasmanian wolf died. And this is only a small part of the impressive list.
Unusual findings
All these animals were ruined by human greed. However, there are many fine people in the world who care about preserving the species existing on the Earth and undertaking expeditions with the goal of discovering new ones. Enthusiasts believe that not all ancient animals have died out. There is even science - cryptozoology, dealing with unusual relic species. The most famous of them are the plesiosaur of Loch Ness and the Puerto Rican Chupacabra. Skeptics do not believe in their existence, but relatively recently no one believed in the existence of okapi, pygmy hippopotamuses, brush-fish, dwarf deer and other animals discovered in the 18-20th centuries. As if in confirmation that the new discoveries are still ahead, people find unusual skeletons or fragments of bodies of unknown creatures that are waiting for their description and classification.