ExtinctZoo - When Antarctica Was A Jungle

Episode Date: March 1, 2026

Antarctica now, can seem a bit bleak, I mean its mainly a lotta of ice, on top of ice, on top of ya know. However, it wasn't always like that, and really Antarctica has one of the wildest timeline...s out there. And at some point that timeline hit peak chaos, and that was this point...

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Starting point is 00:00:51 It is a massive landmass which is larger than both Australia and Europe, and yet it has no native population, being the only continent considered to be uninhabitable to humans, due to its bitter cold weather and barreness, with it in fact being considered the coldest, driest and windiest continent on the entire planet. And as a result, it's not just our kind that avoids it, but pretty much all kinds of animals, including, in contrary to popular belief, polar bears. On top of this, the largest fully terrestrial animal that lives in Antarctica year round is literally only the size of an insect, seeing that that's what it is, an insect, the Antarctic Midge, which thus also holds the title for being the continent's largest land predator. And even then, this guy is restricted to the
Starting point is 00:01:33 ice-free coast of the continent, with the interior being home to no known non-microscopic organisms. So, in almost every sense, this is a pretty lifeless continent dominated by ice, lots of it, with some areas being covered in layers that go down for over three miles or 4.8 kilometers, and as a whole, 70% of all of Earth's fresh water is trapped there in the form of ice. Yet, with all this said, as some of you might know, Antarctica hasn't always been a frozen wasteland. And in reality, from a geological standpoint, its icy era is a relatively new thing, as roughly 34 million years ago during the Eocene period, it wasn't white, but rather green, and full of unsurprisingly, much larger life, until that is, the onset of the Cenozoic Ice Age.
Starting point is 00:02:14 However, while that point was the last time it was a green continent, it wasn't then that was necessarily the peak of Antarctica, so to speak, as that occurred much of the enderctic. earlier. And if you truly wanted to see Antarctica in its craziest form, you would need to travel way back before the age of mammals even began, to a time when dinosaurs ruled. In other words, the Jurassic period. Now, the Jurassic itself was not the wildest Antarctica would get, but it was an important time in Antarctica's history and set the stage for what would come.
Starting point is 00:02:43 Already at the time, the continent of Pangea had been slowly breaking apart for millions of years, yet a surprising good amount of its shape still held, and this included Antarctica's, As opposed to today, it was still connected to many other land masses, sharing borders with Australia, India, and the larger supercontinent of Gondwana. And while it was more southern than the vast majority of continents back then, it wasn't as close to the pole as it currently is, with its longitude back then being more similar to southern parts of modern-day Chile and Argentina. And so, this aspect, combined with the overall warmer temperatures in the Mesozoic,
Starting point is 00:03:15 courtesy of our friend Carmar dioxide, resulted in Antarctica being significantly warmer, ice-free, and green. A trip here back then would have been, well, a trip, as nothing would have looked like how you typically imagine the continent. Instead of glaciers, rocks, and ice sheets, lush forests made up much of the lands, largely dominated by ancient families of conifers, ferns, and bentontails. And then instead of the very unvaried features, rivers, lakes, streams, and swamps all peppered the surface, leading to an environment that was not only more interesting to look
Starting point is 00:03:46 at, but also quite friendly to life, so you could say. And given its still attachment to the rest of the world, the arrival of fauna was inevitable, and it is during this time during the earlier days the Jurassic that the first dinosaurs on the continent appeared, as far as we know. And currently, the best studied Jurassic formation in Antarctica is Hanson Hill, and no, not that Hanson, but rather the site located on Mount Kerpatrick, which dates back to the middle Sinai-Murion. Today it's surrounded by glaciers, but back then, as alluded to, the climate was far warmer,
Starting point is 00:04:16 being around 17 to 18 degrees Celsius, with a similar climate to that of the middle of the southern Chile. And it was here that dinosaurs such as sealophyssoids were owned, as well smaller neotheropods, ornithicians, and numerous mass spondolids, which was one of the earliest known saropotamore families, that were highly primitive and did not look anything like your stereotypical sarapod, with many being bipedal and surprisingly small, being no larger than a deer. On the flip side, you then had others at the glacialosaurus, who were significantly larger, and in its case was up to six meters or 20 feet long, and similar in weight to an Asian elephant. And what's really interesting is that in some ways Jurassic Antarctica represented a land
Starting point is 00:04:52 stuck in time, as here these primitive sarapodomorphs actually lived right alongside, undescribed, yet true, derived saropods. So, in comparison, it would almost be like if ancient humans came back today and then started living amongst us, so pretty nifty. But what wasn't so nifty is that, along with this larger life, there were also a lot more creepy crawlies in general, ones that are obviously no longer found on this continent. And this included not only a variety of beetles, but also cockroaches. What's more is that today, Antarctica is the only continent in which a human could walk around on land for, say, forever, and can fully expect not to get eaten, as the largest land predator
Starting point is 00:05:31 is that midge, I mentioned earlier. Yet during the Jurassic, totally different story. As in Hanson Hill, you would have found the cryolophosaurus, meaning the frozen crested lizard. Discovered back in 1994, this guy was stomping around in the southern continent, some 194 million years prior, and is often nicknamed Elvis Soros. Not because of its face, mind you, but rather the distinct pompadour-like crest has sat on the top of its head and extended from side to side. The bone structure of this crest is quite hollow and delicate, and thus it's believed to
Starting point is 00:06:02 been used just like Elvis's pompadour, which is to say to woo the ladies, or in this case the guys too, as both genders actually seem to possess this. Yet, the similarities between this theropod and Elvis pretty much end here, as ultimately was still a ferocious hunter, with unknown musical capabilities, which actually was, and is, the largest land predator we know of to have ever lived in Antarctica, with matured specimens measuring some 7 meters, or 23 feet long, and way between half a ton to 2 thirds of a ton, which, by the way, also makes it the largest theropod from the early Jurassic, meaning that while Antarctica today is home to some of the smallest predators in the world, it used to be home to the largest, relatively speaking, and equipped
Starting point is 00:06:40 with powerful arms and claws, plus inward curving teeth designed to securely hold prey, the cryolophosaurus likely fed on a mixed diet, mainly composed of dinosaurs. Evidence by certain specimens found cryalophosaurus bite marks. While then, to a lesser degree, non-dinosaurus, such as dimorphodontids and synodonts, could have been prey too, especially for the juveniles. And it seems that even fellow cryolithsoress didn't escape this fate, as multiple specimens were found with signs of cannibalism and scavenging, with one case even showcasing a baby that had ransacked the carcass of a far larger adult, which I guess means that anything can technically be baby food if you want it to be. And the numerous signs of scavenging of their own kind
Starting point is 00:07:19 actually might have been signs of a dark side of Antarctica, pointing out that even back then, things would get rather dicey, and in some ways faster than now. As in the formations, paleontologists discovered massive buildups of volcanic material, indicating that devastating local eruptions were commonplace and would have brought to massive dangers such as pyroclastic flows and lava flows, which in themselves seem to have started enough wildfires to totally alter the landscape, causing resources to undoubtedly become scarce and creating a world under immense pressure. And so, this was bad in all to immediate life, no doubt, but actually, these events ultimately helped create fertile lands in the long run, which might have played a role in the fact
Starting point is 00:07:56 that even the Jurassic was not the climax for the continent. Because as Pangea continued to have rip apart, Antarctica was also slowly being pulled more and more. And by 20 million years after the formation of Hanson Hill, Antarctica had finally fully separated from Gondwana and was more southern than ever before. But at the same time, it was still connected to some other parts of the world. But then 50 million years after, India finally took a bow and self- ejected itself, leaving only Antarctica and Australia standing. A bit ironic, since Australia, coincidentally used to be called Antarctica. But that's besides the point. The actual point is, conjoined, the two ended up swapping and sharing many of the same animals, though eventually even their bromance came to an end. And by the time
Starting point is 00:08:35 the later Cretaceous strolled in some 85 million years ago, Antarctica was in most senses all by its lonesome, only being periodically connected to his fellow neighbors by periodic lambruges. And during the Cretaceous, not only did its level of isolation change, but so did its climate, with the area becoming more humid and seasonal, while the average temperature was also slightly higher than previously, which makes sense, seeing that in general, Cretaceous was a warmer period. And fossilized soil samples suggest that Antarctica during Lake Cretaceous was comparable to moderate temperate zones today, and during the summer, mean highs could even reach up to 25 Celsius or 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
Starting point is 00:09:10 So about the same as Kenya's current average year-round temperature. And by this time, the forest had also undergone great changes, with the dominant flora now being, potocarpes, erasian conifers, and the ever-increasing-sperms, or also colloquially known as flowering plants. And the landscape might have held an uncanny resemblance to forests today where the genus nothotho-fagits is rich, with local environments looking something a bit like this. So, not bad, right? And I'll answer my own question there, and say, not at all.
Starting point is 00:09:38 there were still some questionable things about the continent that made it a tough cell, with one of those problems being the long nights. You see, when winter finally decided to come, it stuck around for a long time, as did the winter darkness, and it's thought that the region could have, and I quote, easily have experienced four months perpetual darkness, with only the stars, moon, and occasional glow of volcano bringing any sort of light. However, as a wise man once said, life still found a way, and it was actually during this time in the Lake Cretaceous that Antarctica finally reached its golden age, with the continent on its surrounding waters being home for a plethora of different animals, including an increasingly diverse amount of dinosaurs. And amongst the most
Starting point is 00:10:18 common seems to been incalosaurs, specifically the Antarctica Pelta, the stocky genus that it was a smaller to medium-sized encalosaur measuring between 4 and 6 meters or 12 and 20 feet, while having a similar weight to a female bison. Similar to its kin found elsewhere, it possessed numerous osteoderms or bony plates around its body, which created a very formidable shell of protection against hungry mouths and dangers in general. However, what truly made the sky a menace was not its armor, but rather its tail. Unlike the Encalisaurus, Antarcticapelta lacked an ossified tail club, and yet what it had instead might have been even gnarlier, because as the osteoderms got closer to the end of the tail, they started to elongate and flatten, forming a near-identical
Starting point is 00:10:58 structure to a Makwaito, which, if you don't know what that is, is just about the most iconic weapon used by Mesoamericans, a wooden sword with embedded obsidian blades. The based off accounts from Conquistadors was enough to fully decapitate a horse in one swing. So now imagine a similar-like weapon wielded by an Antarctic dinosaur the size of a bison. Yeah, not exactly a great sight if you're on the receiving end. And this also then begs the question of who was this tale designed for? And to that, my friends, I say, let me introduce you to the Terror, of Antarctica, the imperabator, meaning the powerful warrior. Now, on the surface, this creature to one might come across like a fluffy raptor from Jurassic Park.
Starting point is 00:11:38 And yet, it wasn't a velociraptor at all, and it might not even have been a Dramasaur, despite the resemblance, seeing that its current classification is Unen Legita, a Pravian family that has traditionally been considered Dramasors, but is now sometimes viewed as its own separate thing. And one of its more prominent members is the Osteraraptor, one of the largest known Praevians of all time, that can measure 6 meters or 20 feet long and weighed half a ton. And a tad bit of that size seems to have trickled down into the imperabator, who is also one of the largest known pravians out there,
Starting point is 00:12:06 being in its case over 3 meters or 10 feet long and quite robust, relatively speaking. Now, unlike the Dramasaurids, it seems that the imperator lacked a prominent sickle claw on its foot, but don't let that fool you because in no doubt still remained a lethal killer, using powerful arms, legs, and its mouth full of long, curved, and bladed teeth to absolutely rip animals apart. Additionally, if you couldn't tell by now, the imperator was fully feathered, helping it stay warm during the cold months, while powerful large eyes then aided it when winter was coming, and the long dark nights began.
Starting point is 00:12:37 And I don't know about you guys, but the thought of being hunted in perpetual darkness by a large raptor isn't the most comforting thought out there. And unfortunately, it wasn't the only hunting. Wireless can feel like a world of traps, but not with visible. It's one-line wireless with unlimited data and hotspot, powered by Verizon for $25,000. a month. Taxes and fees included. Plus, for a limited time, new members pay just $20 a month for one year on the Visible plan. Using the code Fresh Start. Refresh your wireless with Visible. Tap the banner to switch today. Terms apply, limited time offer subject to change. See Visible.com for plan features and network management details. As well unidentified for now, paleontologists do know that at least one other carnivorous kind of theropod called these lands home.
Starting point is 00:13:24 And sadly, we know next to nothing about this new contender, except that given what little bones have been found, it's estimated to have stood around 2.4 meters or roughly 8 feet tall, and was likely a mechoraptur, which if you haven't seen my video on them, is a grizzly group that to use remittable handcloths to essentially gut and skewer prey, which they would then eat kind of like a sheesh kebab. So definitely another animal best to be avoided on any time-traveling excursion. Meanwhile, to a lesser scary degree, Cretaceous and Antarctica was also home to numerous ornithopods, such as the Morosaurus and Trinosaurus, gaviforms, neorniths, Ornithere, and multiple types of alasmaria.
Starting point is 00:14:00 And so, all in all, these guys helped keep the Andarctic scene quite lively and diverse. But sure, they weren't necessarily impressive giants like we've come to expect of dinosaurs. But with that said, in recent years it has come to light that Cretaceous Andartica might also have been graced by the largest family of animals to ever walk. And that would be, of course, saropods. Specifically, the incomplete caudal vertebrae of an individual was found, which not only belonged to a sarapod, but also a group holding the largest saropods ever, the titanosaurs. And for now, like our mysterious theropod, we do not know what genus of titanosaur this was exactly, only that it was a type of lithostrocian, a family titanosaurs that greatly varied in size, with some being absolutely massive, and others still large, but perhaps not so large for a sarapod. And currently it's not known where on the spectrum our Antarctic sarapod fell.
Starting point is 00:14:50 To add on to that, it's possible that many other dinosaurs could have been encountered traversing these lands as well, seeing that it's believed that the continent acted as a stepping stone back in those days between Australia and South America via intermittent lambruges, which would explain why certain groups of dinosaurs from South America are found in the land now down under. However, personally, if I ever find myself from Cretaceous Antarctica, I am staying put. I am certainly not trying to go to South America or Australia. And it's not that this place was paradise or anything, after all it seems the deadly volcanism
Starting point is 00:15:20 was still a thing at that time, it's rather just that I don't dare facing the water at all, no matter how little of it, I need to swim. As in the waters surrounding the continent is where the true horror is light. And this of course included an abundance of the top dogs in Mesozoic philosophia, which would be, of course, the mosasaurus, are old marine reptilian pals. It seems that not even Antarctic waters could escape their presence, and in the shallas and depth where at least five different kinds of mosasaurus lurked, and one of them was the infamous mosasaurus. However, the mosasaurus here wasn't the same kind as the one found in North America.
Starting point is 00:15:54 Instead it was the Mosasaurus Lemoneri that lived here, which was a smaller, yet still massive, 10 meter or 33-foot-long predator that was distinct and that its snout was highly pointed, and its teeth were quite different from those seen in other mosasaurus species, being smooth-edged and more slender. In this shape, combined with its highly flexible lower jaw, has led to the idea that it utilized a form of ratchet feeding, wearing it would bite prey, hold it, and then use its lower jaw to turn its mouth into a conveyor belt of some sort, walking the prey ever so slowly and torturously down its gullic. Chemical analysis suggests their preferred hunting in deeper waters, as did, by the way, coexisting kin, the plioplata carpus. This was a medium-sized relative,
Starting point is 00:16:34 who reached about six meters or 18 feet from snout to tail, and was actually even more adapted to the deep life than the lemoneri, possessing a short stubby snout to fit its massive eyes that aided in the darkness of the depths, where it used slender recurved teeth to feast upon soft-bodied creatures. However, despite the darker parts of the ocean being its main go-to, the plioplaticarpus might have been the mosesore to worry about while inland, as historically specimens of this creature have been found in prehistoric riverbeds, meaning that they possibly venture into brackish and fresh water, which in turn implies that even inland in Cretaceous Antarctica, you are never 100% safe from a mosaure. And then to finish the superfetched
Starting point is 00:17:13 affected mosasaurus off, you would have also had the 8 meter or 26 foot long Taniwasaurus, who snout was a biological ram and was pretty much a generalist hunter, plus an unidentified kind of thylosaur. And as a group, it was these mosasores that were the most predominant megafaunal hunters in the water. However, with that said, they were by no means the only marine giants around. After all, we cannot forget about the other reptilian group that was doing just fine in the Cretaceous, the pleasosaurs. In fact, around the continent, they were doing even better than the mosasaurus, at least from a diversity standpoint, with multiple different families being known to the area, such as species of Aristonectone, elasmusoridae, and the Vettalanectia.
Starting point is 00:17:51 Now, thankfully, while lots of these pleasiosaurus were quite unnerving in length, they probably weren't too interested in large or human-sized game, as this group were specialized fish eaters, using their long neck to infiltrate schools of fish in incognito style and then gobble down the unlucky Nemo that got too close. So a true sushi terror this bunch was. Yet at the same time, in a way, they needed to fear their own prey, as some of the fish could bite back and bite back hard. In the days since the dinosaurs, mosasores, and pleesosaurs have been discovered, so have a multitude of fish, which have included their own jaws and giants.
Starting point is 00:18:26 And amongst them all, one stood out as the biggest troublemaker, and that would be the Cretelamna, the shark that might have been what would one day evolve into the largest shark of all time, the megalodon. During the Cretaceous, though, this shark was much smaller, with specimens suggesting that in adulthood, individuals off the coast of Antarctica would cap out at around 5 meters or 16 feet long. So, not as big as a Megalodon, but still very, very big, being larger than any known bull shark and akin to what you'd expect from a very large tiger shark. And just like any respectable, very scary shark, but create a lamina had rows of razor-like teeth that were designed to dice and
Starting point is 00:19:01 slice, but were still general in shape enough that it's believed that it had an opportunistic diet, hunting everything and anything it could get its hands, or rather jaws on. And we know this is a fact, seeing that many walks of life have been found with embedded teeth or signs of predation, including boning fish, turtles, squids, other sharks, and then even elasmasorids and moses. In fact, the largest confirmed prey to wind after were over 9 meters long or 30 feet, demonstrating that sharks have always been quite the crazed bunch. And as a group, in the Cretaceous Antarctica, the Cretal Lama was definitely not alone, far from it. And at the bottom of the fin totem pole, you had familiar faces such as angel sharks,
Starting point is 00:19:39 who lived along the seafloor, where they ambushed. mainly bony fish and dog sharks, who were then naturally another shark that lived here. Then above the sea floor, but still within the deeper waters, was also a kind of now-examed cow shark, the noted danadon. It was a slightly larger shark that was about twice the length of a typical American woman, and it was a generalistic hunter just like the cretalumna, just on a smaller scale. And it also tended to stick to deeper, darker waters, whereas the former was more of an epipelagic creature. And then another shark that also seemed to prefer the darkness, too, is one that actually still lives today, and is among, among our own.
Starting point is 00:20:11 earth's oldest still living general, and that would be the frilled shark. Identifiable by its eel-like body, horrifying seemingly never-ending teeth, and creepy eyes, this guy's been around for a hot minute, and the warmer temps of the time allowed it to extend all the way down to Antarctica, something which is obviously no longer the case today, but back then and presumably did what it does today, meaning hunting animals with its roughly 300 recurved needle-like teeth that allows it to easily grip the slimy as to prey, including numerous kinds of soft-bodied cephalopods, and then to a lesser degree, fish and small sharks were also in frequent snacks as well. And while being inarguably terrifying to look at,
Starting point is 00:20:48 frailed sharks are definitely the kind of fish that I'd say look scarier to us than they really are. In a similar case to this is seen goblin sharks, who stick to the abyss too, and have faces that only a mother could love, if even that, hence their names. However, given how nightmarish they look, and guess you could say that they're surprisingly harmless to larger animals, as they are quite the sluggish fish and rely on an unusual jaw to hunt, which basically shoots out and swallows animals whole, animals which thankfully likely do not include humans.
Starting point is 00:21:16 Yet, here in the Cretaceous, goblin sharks were a bit more problematic, so you could say. And this was all thanks to the Capanarinkus. First appearing in the Aptune stage, this was a goblin shark like no other, and for more than one reason at that. The first reason is that it broke the darkness trend, trading the depths for more shallow coastal environments.
Starting point is 00:21:35 And because of this, to lack many of the specific adaptations we see in modern goblins, including the sluginess, as it possessed an extremely long and powerful tail, plus flippers, that allowed it to get around in style. A great thing for it, and not a great thing for other life, especially since this happened to be an absolutely giant goblin shark, the largest ever, to be exact, capable of reaching up to 6.7 meters or 22 feet long, and likely weighing over one ton. An isometric analysis of its teeth revealed that this giant mostly preyed upon large fish,
Starting point is 00:22:04 but it was absolutely capable of taking down other types of prey, if need be, seeing that them are followed to its teeth was designed to both capture slippery prey and adhere massive chunks of flesh out of animals, causing catastrophic blood loss. So, not exactly an animal you want to encounter on a swim. And like the plioplated carpus, this might have proved more challenging than you might think, as the remains of it have been found in multiple freshwater environments. And to make the situation even less fortunate for us, it's thought that the Skopana-Rancis used its long snout the way goblin sharks do today, and that is to say, detecting the minute electrical fields given off by nearby animals, meaning that if you were crossing a river
Starting point is 00:22:40 or some brackish environment in which the water was beyond murky, while you might not be able to see it, it definitely could have still sensed you. Now, ancient goblin sharks were no doubt among the stranger life that Antarctica possessed, but there was another group of fish that gave them a run for their money and were quite a bit more abundant as well, and that was the chimeras, a group of cartilaginous fish that are sometimes called ghost sharks, given their shark-like traits and otherworldly appearance. Yet, in reality, they are not true sharks, instead only being close relatives. And nowadays, they are among the rarest fish out there.
Starting point is 00:23:14 Yet during the Cretaceous, it was a whole different story, as this was their own golden age, so to speak, with the order having been far more plentiful and diverse. And diverse in this case doesn't just refer their shapes, but also their size. Nowadays, the largest chimeras are fairly small, think the same weight as a medium-sized dog. In prehistoric times, though, different story. None show this as much as the Adaphrodon, a giant chimera with a rabbit fish-like appearance that could grow up to 3.43 meters or 11.3 feet, making it the largest chimera known thus far. And opposed to modern chimeras where you have no reason to fear them, the Adaphadon was best
Starting point is 00:23:51 to be voided. And why you may ask? Well, besides from being able to give you the fright of your life, they also had pretty unusual dentition, possessing giant tooth plates that were edged and extremely durable, allowing it to both crush hard-shelled animals and cut apart larger organisms, such as fish, sharks, and marine reptiles. So, uh, don't stick your hand in its mouth, I guess? And while I have already probably exhausted you with philosophic fish, I hate to say that we aren't even halfway down the list. As others included, the barracuda-like and a patydides, and the additional extinct shark,
Starting point is 00:24:23 Svinidus, that was highly adapted to hunting cephalopods and was roughly the same size as a bull shark. And so, clearly, it seems like Antarctica was a bit of a fishy fish-eat fish, world, and the fish heating was only further intensified by another group that lived here. That hint-hint was the last piece of what I like to call the Mesozoic trifecta, with the other two being dinosaurs and marine reptiles. And in case you need just another hint, think flying. So yes, I'm talking about pterosaurs, or in this case, a terrosaur. Back in 2019, a metacarpal was found on James Ross Island that had evidently come from a winged
Starting point is 00:24:56 beast. But like many of the animals in Antarctica, the exactness was hard to tell. But one thing was for certain, and that was, this was the closest thing to a dragon Antarctica ever got, saying that this terrosaur was a bigon. Based on the dimensions of its metatarsal, it's believed that the wingspan would have been over 5 meters or 16 feet across. So, longer than the tallest African elephant is tall, and representing the biggest animal to ever fly over Antarctica. And while we don't know exactly what the sky was,
Starting point is 00:25:24 if we follow trends seen in other terrorsors, there is a fair chance that this mysterious terrosaur was really an Astarquid. which would also then imply that fish weren't the only critters they needed to watch the sky, meaning it could very much of well hunt it on land. And I guess this is all to say that while Antarctica today isn't home to many giants, once upon a time it absolutely was. However, the irony in this is that the Golden Age of Antarctica stood side by side to, well, whatever the opposite of the Golden Age is.
Starting point is 00:25:51 As a few million years after this point, the party was violently ended by the late Cretaceous extinction event. You'd think that being by so far away from the epicenter of the asteroid, which was, in present-day Mexico, you'd be pretty safe, and Antarctica would be largely spared from the carnage. But nope, it got absolutely messed up, just like every other place. And studies have actually even singled it out, as in the past, scientists had actually wondered if it's southern bearings, it created some sort of safe haven. And one, very interesting study, analyzed over 6,000 marine fossils from the area that ranged from about 70 million years in age to 1 million years after the extinction. And these fossils greatly ranged in species and size, with some being small mollusks, others being medium-sized fifth,
Starting point is 00:26:29 And then, of course, there was also giant mosasors. And what they found is, is that immediately at the time when the asteroid were struck, there was a massive drop-off in the number of species present, with around 70% disappearing, which is a similar extinction rate to what was seen elsewhere in the world. And if you had been there on that fateful day, you could have come to look forward to, a magnitude-for-earthquake, and eject a cloud as thick as a dust storm, a superheated atmosphere that would have ignited anything cut out in the open, on fire, and just to round it all off, a 10-meter or 33-foot-tall tsunami,
Starting point is 00:26:58 which is similar to the average wave height seen in Japan's 2011 tsunami, which completely devastated the country. And then, following this devastating day, things would also only get worse for the time being, as the dust blocked out the sun, leading to a nuclear winter-like event. And by the end of it all, Antarctica would never, ever be the same, with the non-avian dinosaurs and nearly all of the Mesozoic megafauna,
Starting point is 00:27:19 having been swiftly eradicated. Yet, yet that said, some of Antarctica's giants did hold on for a bit, such as the Adaphaon and Cradleamna, which, as you know, would one day get, of us the largest predator of all time. And ultimately, Antarctica would recover in many ways for quite a while. And if you want to know how, and to what extent, check on my other video on the continent, where it takes a peek at the last time it was green. Thanks for watching, and until next time, on Extinct Zoo.
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