IN A LIGHTER VEIN

Where have all the dinosaurs gone?

Here today—gone tomorrow. Is that possible in the animal kingdom? That is a question that bothers many that study the appearance and disappearance of dinosaurs.

Yes, extinction takes place in the animal kingdom.  But, that happens over a very long period of time.  It does not happen overnight.  And, such extinction relates to a single species or maybe two or three at a time but not to the entire animal kingdom in one go.
The best known case of extinction is the ‘dodo’—a bird that was endemic to Mauritius. When ships docked, the inquisitive dodos would approach them in the hope of getting some food. The adult dodo was believed to be three feet tall and weighed about 20 kg. That put great food value on them.

The dodos were hunted to extinction by sailors that came to Mauritius, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, during the seventeenth century.  Today, ‘dodo’ has become an idiom for extinct species of animals and also for stupidity because it is their curiosity and trusting nature that got them killed.

If that is the case, where have all the dinosaurs that ruled the earth for millions of years gone? Did they disappear one fine morning?  

Were they driven to extinction—if so—by whom? The homo sapiens did not put up an appearance on earth until 100,000 years ago. And, the dinosaurs were already here around 250 million years ago and were gone by that time.  Who could have been more destructive than human beings? Or, is there a misreading with regard to the time of their extinction? Is man responsible for the decimation of dinosaurs after all?

Did dinosaurs really vanish one fine morning after the great deluge as is being claimed? But, then, if they were there before the great deluge, Noah carried specimen of all living beings into his ark. Then, why didn’t they survive?

Were they wiped out by some natural disaster that enveloped the whole world? Or, were they decimated by some extra-terrestrial beings from outer space?

If the dinosaurs vanished completely, what can we ascribe the animal kingdom of today to? Should we believe in creation as found in religious texts?  Or, should we believe in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution?

Strange—isn’t it? If there was anything called the great deluge, the dinosaurs may not have vanished completely. We still have some evolved species of pre-historic animals in the animal kingdom today. The elephant has evolved from woolly mammoths. The big cats may have evolved from sabre toothed tiger. The rhinoceros which looks like a natural armoured vehicle seems to have evolved from brontosaurus. The crocodile still looks like a prehistoric animal of the reptilian era.

From another standpoint, if we look at kangaroos and wallabies, it would appear that the dinosaurs did not vanish from the surface of planet earth after all. In fact, they might have evolved into mammals.  

Kangaroo is a marsupial. Marsupials are mammals whose babies develop in a pouch on the belly of the mother. Look at the shape of Kangaroos.  Look at their heads. Look at their short forelegs. Look at their long hind legs. And, look at their long winding tails. They match feature for feature with those of the tyrannosaurus.  In fact, that is how most dinosaurs looked. The skeleton of a kangaroo may match perfectly with the fossil of a dinosaur of the same description. Possibly that is how dinosaurs that answers to this description moved during those days.

In the same way, when we look at newborn baby herons, they look like evolved forms of Archaeopteryx. Then we have strange animals like the duck-billed platypus in Australia which seems to belong to another age in time.

That brings us to the moot point. If tyrannosaurus has evolved into the present day kangaroos and wallabies, where are the dinosaurs from which they have evolved?

If man has evolved from apes and we still have apes roaming this earth, it means that part of the ape population has evolved into man while the rest of it has continued to be the way they were. By the same token, if tyrannosaurus has evolved into kangaroos and wallabies, there must be some which have not evolved for reasons which did not support their evolution. Some of them should have survived in their original form. If so, where are they?

Where have all the dinosaurs gone?

The writer is a cultural commentator and editor, based in New Delhi.

IN A LIGHTER VEIN

Where have all the dinosaurs gone?

Here todaygone tomorrow. Is that possible in the animal kingdom? That is a question that bothers many that study the appearance and disappearance of dinosaurs. Yes, extinction takes place in the animal kingdom. But, that happens over a very long period of time. It does not happen overnight. And, such extinction relates to a single species or maybe two or three at a time but not to the entire animal kingdom in one go. The best known case of extinction is the dodoa bird that was endemic to Mauritius. When ships docked, the inquisitive dodos would approach them in the hope of getting some food. The adult dodo was believed to be three feet tall and weighed about 20 kg. That put great food value on them. The dodos were hunted to extinction by sailors that came to Mauritius, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, during the seventeenth century. Today, dodo has become an idiom for extinct species of animals and also for stupidity because it is their curiosity and trusting nature that got them killed. If that is the case, where have all the dinosaurs that ruled the earth for millions of years gone? Did they disappear one fine morning? Were they driven to extinctionif soby whom? The homo sapiens did not put up an appearance on earth until 100,000 years ago. And, the dinosaurs were already here around 250 million years ago and were gone by that time. Who could have been more destructive than human beings? Or, is there a misreading with regard to the time of their extinction? Is man responsible for the decimation of dinosaurs after all? Did dinosaurs really vanish one fine morning after the great deluge as is being claimed? But, then, if they were there before the great deluge, Noah carried specimen of all living beings into his ark. Then, why didnt they survive? Were they wiped out by some natural disaster that enveloped the whole world? Or, were they decimated by some extra-terrestrial beings from outer space? If the dinosaurs vanished completely, what can we ascribe the animal kingdom of today to? Should we believe in creation as found in religious texts? Or, should we believe in Charles Darwins theory of evolution? Strangeisnt it? If there was anything called the great deluge, the dinosaurs may not have vanished completely. We still have some evolved species of pre-historic animals in the animal kingdom today. The elephant has evolved from woolly mammoths. The big cats may have evolved from sabre toothed tiger. The rhinoceros which looks like a natural armoured vehicle seems to have evolved from brontosaurus. The crocodile still looks like a prehistoric animal of the reptilian era. From another standpoint, if we look at kangaroos and wallabies, it would appear that the dinosaurs did not vanish from the surface of planet earth after all. In fact, they might have evolved into mammals. Kangaroo is a marsupial. Marsupials are mammals whose babies develop in a pouch on the belly of the mother. Look at the shape of Kangaroos. Look at their heads. Look at their short forelegs. Look at their long hind legs. And, look at their long winding tails. They match feature for feature with those of the tyrannosaurus. In fact, that is how most dinosaurs looked. The skeleton of a kangaroo may match perfectly with the fossil of a dinosaur of the same description. Possibly that is how dinosaurs that answers to this description moved during those days. In the same way, when we look at newborn baby herons, they look like evolved forms of Archaeopteryx. Then we have strange animals like the duck-billed platypus in Australia which seems to belong to another age in time. That brings us to the moot point. If tyrannosaurus has evolved into the present day kangaroos and wallabies, where are the dinosaurs from which they have evolved? If man has evolved from apes and we still have apes roaming this earth, it means that part of the ape population has evolved into man while the rest of it has continued to be the way they were. By the same token, if tyrannosaurus has evolved into kangaroos and wallabies, there must be some which have not evolved for reasons which did not support their evolution. Some of them should have survived in their original form. If so, where are they? Where have all the dinosaurs gone? The writer is a cultural commentator and editor, based in New Delhi.