What If You Were Alive 200 Million Years Ago
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TVTranscript
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 ♪♪
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