For two centuries, scientists have been puzzled by the causes
of mass extinctions.
George Cuvier, the founding father of paleontology,
believed catastrophic events were responsible,
while Charles Darwin suggested gradual environmental changes and competition among
species led to the slow demise of many lineages.
The end of the Cretaceous period,
145 to 66,000,000 years ago,
marked a significant point in Earth's history.
Characterized by a sudden and widespread extinction event.
The discovery of the Chicks Club crater in Mexico supported
the theory of a catastrophic asteroid impact,
wiping out dinosaurs and numerous other species.
However, there's evidence suggesting A gradual decline in dinosaur diversity
might have also played a role in their extinction.
The challenge in understanding dinosaurs final days lies in the
rarity and patchiness of the fossil record,
concentrated mainly in North America,
Canada. And Mongolia, in contrast,
much less is known about the dinosaurs from the southern
continents like Africa,
which likely hosted a greater diversity of species due to
its vast land mass.
Africa's End Cretaceous period is particularly intriguing.
High volcanic activity and rising sea levels resulted in few
terrestrial rocks from this era,
making dinosaur fossils rare. Yet the phosphate deposits in Morocco,
remnants of an ancient seabed,
have revealed significant finds, including fish bones,
shark teeth and marine reptiles alongside dinosaur remains.
These discoveries suggest dinosaurs may have reached these marine environments
through various means,
including being washed out to sea by floods or swimming
out to islands in search of food.
Africa's last dinosaurs included massive titanosaurian sauropods and horse sized
duck bill dinosaurs.
This exploration into Africa's last dinosaurs not only challenges our
understanding of their extinction,
but also hints at ancient land connections and the adaptability
of these magnificent creatures.
Join us as we unravel the secrets of Africa's prehistoric
past,
bone by bone, revealing a world far more complex and
interconnected than previously imagined.