The Only Time In History That Water Was Safer Than Land

Summary

This script explores the Late Permian period, where life in the oceans was less threatening than on land. It highlights the dominance of land predators like gorgonopsids and theoscephalians, while marine life was relatively calm. The script also discusses the extreme climate and the devastating Late Permian Extinction, known as the Great Dying, which wiped out a significant portion of Earth's species, making water a safer haven.

Takeaways

• 🌊 Oceans were historically more dangerous than land, but there was a period, the Lopingian Age, where life in the water was safer.
• 🌛 During the Lopingian Age, the moon was closer to Earth, causing days to be shorter, around 22 hours.
• 🌍 The Earth's geography was drastically different, with most landmasses forming the supercontinent Pangaea.
• 🐋 Despite the vastness of the oceans, marine life was relatively tame with no large predators, unlike the terrifying land creatures.
• 🦈 Sharks were present, but the infamous Helicoprion had already gone extinct, leaving smaller, less threatening species.
• 🦕 The land, however, was dominated by fearsome predators like the gorgonopsids, which were the new rulers after the Dinocephalians' extinction.
• 🔪 The Inostrancevia was the largest terrestrial predator of the Late Permian, with massive saber-like teeth and a body comparable to a large bear.
• 🐉 The Rubidgeinae subfamily of gorgonopsids independently evolved in South Africa, becoming apex predators with robust skulls and serrated teeth.
• 🐊 Other land predators included the therocephalians, which were diverse and included potential venomous species and semi-aquatic hunters.
• 🌵 The climate was extremely hot and arid, with massive deserts and few habitable areas, making life on land challenging.
• 💥 The Late Permian Extinction, also known as the Great Dying, was the most severe extinction event in Earth's history, wiping out a significant portion of marine and terrestrial life.

Q & A

What is the significance of the Linnan stage in Earth's history?

The Linnan stage represents the last Epoch of the Permian period, playing out between 259 and 252 million years ago. It was a time when Earth was unrecognizable in nearly every sense, including the moon's orbit, which caused days to be shorter at around 22 hours.

How did the geography of Earth differ during the Linnan stage?

During the Linnan stage, most of Earth's land mass was tied up into the supercontinent Pangaea, leading to Africa, the Americas, Antarctica, India, Australia, and parts of Europe being connected. The largest 'island' consisted of present-day Siberia, Kazakhstan, and North China.

What was the size of the Panthalassa ocean compared to today's oceans?

The Panthalassa ocean occupied well over 60% of Earth's surface, out-sizing the current Pacific Ocean by two times.

Why were the oceans during the Linnan stage considered fairly tame?

Despite their grand size, the oceans during the Linnan stage were fairly tame in terms of marine life. There were sharks, but none as large as the helicoprion, and other marine groups were not doing well due to the Capitanian mass extinction event.

What was the impact of the Capitanian extinction event on marine life?

The Capitanian mass extinction event was more deadly than both the KT Extinction and the Triassic-Jurassic Extinction. It affected marine life severely, leading to a decrease in numbers and sizes of marine groups.

How did terrestrial life fare during the Linnan stage compared to marine life?

Terrestrial life during the Linnan stage recovered more swiftly from the Capitanian extinction and became arguably more dangerous than before, with the emergence of new predators like the gorgonopsids.

What characteristics defined the gorgonopsids, and why were they so feared?

Gorgonopsids were characterized by deep-set teeth, parasagittal gates, long narrow skulls, and razor-sharp elongated incisors and canines, making them among the first saber-tooth predators to evolve. Their presence made them look similar to saber-tooth cats.

What was the largest terrestrial predator from the late Permian, and how big was it?

The largest terrestrial predator from the late Permian was Inostrancevia, which could have been over 11 ft or 3.5 m long and weighed over 1,000 lb or 453 kilos.

How did the climate during the late Permian affect life on land?

The climate during the late Permian was extremely hot, with average temperatures of 35°C or 95°F, leading to severe aridity and massive deserts. This made large chunks of land borderline uninhabitable.

What was the Late Permian Extinction, and how severe was its impact on life?

The Late Permian Extinction, also known as the Great Dying, was Earth's worst extinction event. It resulted in 57% of all biological families and 83% of genera going extinct. It was believed to have started from the eruption of the Siberian traps, causing extreme heat, hypoxia events, and significant damage to the ozone layer.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 The Ocean's Calmer Past: The Lenaan Epoch

The script discusses a period in Earth's history known as the Lenaan Epoch, which occurred before the dinosaurs and was part of the Permian Period. During this time, life in the oceans was less threatening compared to life on land. The moon orbited closer to Earth, resulting in shorter days of approximately 22 hours. The continents were arranged into a supercontinent called Pangaea, with most landmasses connected. The oceans, particularly the Panthalassa, were vast, covering over 60% of the Earth's surface. Despite the size, the marine life was not as fearsome, with the absence of giant predators like the helicoprion. Instead, smaller sharks and other marine life dominated the seas. On land, however, the situation was different, with the Capitolian mass extinction event leading to a more dangerous environment for terrestrial life.

05:02

🐅 Rise of the Land Predators: The Late Permian

The second paragraph delves into the rise of land predators during the late Permian period. With the extinction of the Dinocephalians, new predators like the Gorgonopsids emerged. These were the first saber-tooth predators, evolving from small creatures to formidable hunters like the Inostrancevia, which could grow over 11 feet long and were a significant threat to herbivores. The Gorgonopsids had a widespread presence, with species like the Prosthecioplia and Saurognathus dominating the ecosystems. The paragraph also mentions the Rubidgeinae subfamily, which were robust and had serrated teeth, making them apex predators alongside the Inostrancevia. The late Permian period was characterized by a variety of predatory animals, making land a more dangerous environment than the oceans.

10:04

🦈 A Menagerie of Marine and Land Predators

This section highlights the diversity of predators during the late Permian period. While the oceans were relatively calm, the land was filled with a variety of predatory groups. The Therocephalia, distant relatives of mammals, were widespread and diverse, with some potentially being venomous. The Moschops, a therocephalian, was an apex predator with a large head and sharp teeth. Other predators included the Theriosuchia, which had a mix of hunting techniques, and the Protorosaurs, which were crocodile-like reptiles. The section also mentions semi-aquatic and fully aquatic predators, emphasizing the abundance of carnivorous life on land during this time.

15:04

🐊 The Harsh Environment of Pangaea

The fourth paragraph describes the harsh environment of Pangaea during the late Permian period. The climate was extremely hot, with average temperatures reaching 35°C, leading to vast deserts and arid conditions. The central Pangaean mountains created areas prone to severe droughts. Despite these conditions, herbivores like the Diictodon and Scutosaurus managed to survive, with the latter developing heavy armor for protection. The paragraph also mentions the lack of dangerous flying creatures and the overall inhospitable nature of the environment.

20:05

🔥 The Cataclysmic End: The Late Permian Extinction

The final paragraph discusses the catastrophic end of the late Permian period, marked by the Earth's worst extinction event, known as the Great Dying. Triggered by the eruption of the Siberian Traps, this event caused massive lava flows, increased carbon dioxide and sulfur levels, and led to extreme temperatures and a drastic drop in oxygen levels. The eruptions are believed to have damaged the ozone layer, increasing ultraviolet radiation significantly. This apocalyptic scenario resulted in the extinction of 57% of all biological families and 83% of genera, making it a far more devastating event than the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Keywords

💡Peran Period

The Peran Period is a geological time period that occurred during the Paleozoic Era, specifically the last epoch of the Permian Period. It is significant in the video's narrative as it sets the stage for understanding the ancient Earth's environment and the types of life forms that existed at the time. The video mentions that life in the oceans was less threatening than on land during this period, which contrasts with the general perception of marine life being more dangerous.

💡Pangaea

Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Peran Period, consisting of almost all of the Earth's landmasses joined together. In the video, it is used to describe the geographical context of the time, emphasizing how different the Earth's layout was compared to today. The mention of Pangaea helps to illustrate the scale and distribution of land and sea during this epoch.

💡Panthalassa

Panthalassa, referred to in the script, was the vast ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea. It is highlighted as being larger than the current Pacific Ocean, occupying over 60% of Earth's surface. This keyword is crucial for understanding the marine environment during the Peran Period and how it contrasts with the terrestrial environment in terms of biodiversity and potential threats to life.

💡Gorgonopsids

Gorgonopsids were a group of carnivorous therapsids that thrived during the late Peran Period. The video describes them as the dominant terrestrial predators of their time, with features such as saber-like teeth and robust builds. This keyword is central to the video's theme of illustrating the dangerous nature of life on land during the Peran Period, with examples like the Inostrancevia being the largest terrestrial predator of the time.

💡Therocephalians

Therocephalians were a group of mammals-like animals that existed during the Peran Period. The script mentions their absence in the late Peran as allowing other groups, like gorgonopsids, to thrive. This keyword is important for understanding the shifts in dominance among land predators and the ecological changes that occurred during this time.

💡Capitanian Extinction

The Capitanian Extinction Event is an extinction event that occurred within the Peran Period, mentioned in the video as having a significant impact on both marine and terrestrial life. It is used to explain the changes in biodiversity and the rise of new predators like gorgonopsids. Understanding this event helps to contextualize the video's discussion of the Peran Period's ecosystems.

💡Sphenacanids

Sphenacanids were a group of sharks that existed during the Peran Period. The video notes their smaller size compared to the more famous helicoprion, indicating a less threatening marine environment. This keyword contributes to the video's argument that the oceans were safer during the Peran Period compared to the land.

💡Eusthenopteron

Eusthenopteron is an extinct group of fish that lived during the Peran Period. While not explicitly mentioned in the script, it is relevant to the discussion of marine life. Understanding the diversity of marine species like Eusthenopteron helps to paint a picture of the oceanic ecosystem during this time.

💡Thelodonts

Thelodonts were a group of extinct jawless fish that the video mentions as being present during the Peran Period. Their mention helps to illustrate the types of marine life that were not as threatening as their land counterparts, supporting the video's main theme of a safer marine environment.

💡Trilobites

Trilobites were marine arthropods that existed during the Peran Period. The video notes their reduced numbers and size post-Capitanian Extinction Event, which is important for understanding the changes in marine biodiversity. This keyword helps to reinforce the video's narrative of a less threatening oceanic environment during the Peran Period.

💡Late Permian Extinction

The Late Permian Extinction, also known as 'The Great Dying,' is the most severe extinction event in Earth's history, as mentioned in the video. It resulted in a significant loss of biodiversity, both in the oceans and on land. This keyword is crucial for understanding the catastrophic end of the Peran Period and the drastic changes it brought to Earth's ecosystems.

Highlights

The ocean has historically been a more dangerous habitat than land.

During the Llian Epoch, life in the oceans was less threatening than on land.

The moon orbited closer to Earth during the Llian Epoch, resulting in shorter days of around 22 hours.

Most of Earth's landmass was part of the supercontinent Pangaea during the Llian Epoch.

Panthalassa, a prehistoric ocean, covered over 60% of Earth's surface, larger than the current Pacific Ocean.

Despite its size, Panthalassa was relatively tame in terms of marine life.

Helicoprion, a large shark from the Permian, had a unique and unsettling tooth arrangement.

The largest marine predator during the Llian Epoch was only 2 meters long.

The capitanian mass extinction event affected marine life more severely than the KT and Triassic-Jurassic extinctions.

Terrestrial life recovered more quickly from the capitanian extinction, becoming more dangerous.

Gorgonopsids were the dominant predators on land during the late Permian, evolving into saber-tooth forms.

Inosaurus transavia was the largest terrestrial predator of the late Permian, reaching over 3.5 meters in length.

Rubiginae, a subfamily of gorgonopsids, were apex predators in South Africa with robust skulls and serrated teeth.

The Therocephalia were a diverse group of predators that could have been venomous.

Moschorhinus was a therocephalian predator with a large head and sharp teeth, suggesting a strong bite.

The late Permian had a wide variety of unique and unusual carnivores, including semi-aquatic and flying reptiles.

Herbivores in the late Permian were more diverse and developed various survival strategies.

The late Permian had no dangerous flying predators, unlike the Mesozoic era.

The late Permian ended with the most severe extinction event in Earth's history, known as the Great Dying.

The Siberian Traps volcanic eruptions are believed to have caused the Great Dying, leading to extreme global warming and acidification.

Life in the oceans suffered more during the Great Dying due to increased water temperatures and acidification.

Transcripts

there seems to be an unspoken rule in

nature where life in the ocean and seas

must always be far scarier than life on

land this is largely seen today and is

also seen throughout history with even

the age of dinosaurs having had aquatic

nightmares that would have given you

more heie GBS than the likes of the

T-Rex or dromeosaur for example in fact

it's actually quite hard to find a

moment in Earth's history where your

best chances were in the water rather

than on land however there was a short

window of time a very long time ago as

in before the dinosaurs existed were

your chances at survival were actually

better in the oceans and seas since

nearly everything above water including

Mother Nature seemed to be designed for

maximum neness this was the linan this

name most likely means nothing to you

but it represents the last Epoch of the

peran period and played out between 259

and

this was one of those periods in history

where Earth was unrecognizable in nearly

every sense including when it came to

time itself as during those days the

moon had a closer orbit with Earth

causing the days to be shorter than they

are currently at around 22 hours to add

on to the confusion geography was

nothing like it is today either since

most of Earth's land mass was tied up

into the supercontinent Pangia leading

to Africa the americaas Antarctica India

Australia and parts of Europe all being

connected only to the east East could

you find decently sized land masses that

were free of penia clutches with the

largest quote unquote Island consisting

of present day Siberia Kazakhstan and

North China while to the South you would

have swam into another Island composed

of South China and various regions of

Southeast Asia additionally turkey Iran

and Tibet were also Islands at this

point being surrounded by the teus ocean

on one side and the Paleo teus on the

other combined these two bodies of water

were undeniably large but there were

still nothing compared to the super

ocean that lay just west of Pangia

panthalassa this prehistoric ocean was

unlike anything before it or after it

and it occupied well over 60% of the

Earth's surface out sizing the current

Pacific Ocean by two times just

imagining an ocean that is double the

size of the Pacific is nerve-wracking

and probably meant that you should have

avoided it like the plague but despite

its Grand size panthalassa and the other

oceans for that matter were all actually

fairly tame when it came to what was in

them there were of course sharks who had

evolved 200 million years earlier and if

you're something of a perian Enthusiast

then you might be picturing the

helicoprion an 8 m or 26t long shark

that has become something of the poster

child for the peran marine megap and

possessed one of the strangest and most

unsettling mouths of all time that

consisted of a cluster of large teeth on

the bottom jaw which were arranged into

whls yet while this giant shark was

indeed from the perian it had already

died out by the lenan leaving the oceans

rather empty of giant life that being

said there were still relatives of this

shark swimming about though none that

got that big as the biggest hey cidus

was only 2 m or 6.5 ft long similar to

the length of a leopard shark so

definitely not an immense threat

especially since its teeth were designed

for soft animals like squids not bony

food meanwhile other sharks like the

sphenic canids and hibdons while diverse

were even smaller typically growing no

more than 1 M or 3.3 ft the uids or c

scorpions the group of now extinct

arthropods were also present but were

not doing so well because while they

used to be highly diverse and giant

During the devonian period they were now

on the brink of Extinction having never

fully recovered from the devonian

extinction event with only two jera

being known from this point and neither

were large nor apex predators and for

the most part pretty much every Marine

Group wasn't doing well partly due to

the capitanian mass extinction event

that had taken place 2 million years

prior it's a relatively obscure event

but it was actually more deadly than

both the KT Extinction and the Triassic

Jurassic Extinction its effects have

been bad everywhere yet marine life got

the brunt of it and thus during linan

you could see some trilobites ammonoids

and seapods lurking about but not in any

great numbers or size and things would

only get worse for marine life but we'll

get to that later at this moment the

Waters of the lake peran should sound

quite boring but this is a key fact to

take solison as on land you would have

gotten no breaks like in the water the

capitanian extinction had brought

Devastation to terrestrial life however

life on land recovered more swiftly and

was actually made arguably more

dangerous than before since the

extinction took out the old rulers of

the Earth the dallans and therefore

leaving the door open for new rulers to

arise the dinoop fallans was a group

that consisted of large bodyi therapsids

who were extremely diverse and plentiful

throughout most of the early and mid

peran yet despite their success they

failed to make it to the late perian

this absence allowed multiple groups to

get ahead but there was one group in

particular who benefited the most

unfortunately for others and that was

the

gorgonopsids these prehistoric animals

were first discovered by paleontologists

all the way back in

1876 and their remains were so

horrifying that the researchers decided

that the gorgens from Greek mythology

were the perfect monsters to name them

after while diverse gorgonopsids still

generally shared the same

characteristics which included deep set

teeth parasagittal Gates long narrow

skulls and razor sharp elongated

incizors and canines making them among

the first saber-tooth predators to

evolve this presence of saber teeth made

them look a bit like saber-tooth cats

such as the Smilodon and their bodies

were superficially similar too but these

killers were neither cat nor feline they

weren't even mammals as a matter of fact

fact instead they appear to have been

therapsids like the dinoop fallans

before them who are more closely related

to mammals than reptiles but still were

not mammals and like the dinoop alans

gorgonops had been around during a good

chunk of the perian first appearing 265

million years ago during the middle

stage in those times these saber-tooth

Predators were very small being no

larger than a person's foot making them

one of the smaller creatures of that

time and forcing them to hunt small

thops and reptiles

however as time passed and each new

genus evolved they got bigger and bigger

a trend that exploded during the late

perian after the eradication of the

dinoop alans which ultimately led to the

emergence of the largest gorgonopsid of

all time in oan Saia this Predator

wasn't just the biggest of its kind but

also the largest terrestrial Predator

from the late peran with exceptional

remains suggesting that adults could

have been over 11 ft or 3.5 M long while

weighing over 1,000 lb or 453 kilos equ

to the size of a large bear though on

average individuals are more comparable

to tigers in addition to being much

larger than most gorgonopsids the inos

transavia was also built different as it

possessed extremely sturdy long limbs

which made it both durable and

surprisingly fast allowing it to outpace

a myriad of medium to large-bodied

herbivores which once caught were in for

an absolutely terrible time as the inos

transavia possessed elongated post

canines and super sized upper canines

that were 15 cm or 6 in is long making

them among the largest teeth seen in

non- mamalian therapsids in addition to

being lengthy the weapons were curved

and finally serrated allowing them to

easily slice through flesh incurring

massive blood loss and causing

catastrophic damage to vital organs but

despite clearly being lethal it's not

100% sure how the indran Savia hunted

with the two schools of thought being

that it either used tactics similar to

what is seen in smilodons I.E taking out

the necks hord would do something

similar to a bite and run letting a

accumulated blood loss and shock take a

toll over time regardless neither are

fun ways to go so you definitely do not

want to run into this apex predator

which was also a very hard challenge for

Animals back then as inos transavia

achieved a widespread range that

included now parts of Africa Asia and

European Russia this saber-tooth also

appears to have been very adaptive as it

routinely popped up in a multitude of

very different biomes such as warm flood

plaines in South Africa or cold air

deserts in Russia where relief was only

found in the occasional Shallow Lake and

thin forests which consisted of pelto

perasan the dominant Flora of the late

perian it's because it lived in these

cold deserts that some paleontologists

think that it may have had fur as well

yet this idea is still

unconfirmed now having one giant

gorgonopsid prowling both hemispheres of

the Earth would have been bad enough but

the late peran was home to many more

than just the inos transavia with dozens

of other species of gorgonopsids being

known of many of which lived in the

European part of Russia as well in

including the smaller pros slav levia

and the mediumsized suo Gorgon resulting

in gorgonopsids having complete

dominance over many ecosystems where

herbivores no matter their size had a

gorgonopsid as their main predator and

also making peran Russia one of the last

places you'd want to visit although it

was actually much worse down in South

Africa where a whole subf family of

giant gorgonopsids had independently

evolved alongside the inos transavia and

they were the rubig while the inos

transavia was the largest single

gorgonopsid of all time the rubig were

on average the largest family and were

distinguished by robust skulls the lack

of a parasphenoid bone frequent tooth

replacement and the possession of deeply

serrated teeth that were likely even

better for cutting than those the inran

Savia they were fairly stocky too with

some coming very close in size to the

inran Saia as demonstrated by rubidia

atrox a species of gorgonopsid who

resided within what is today South

Africa and Tanzania where it sometimes

grew to be 10 feet or 3 m long this body

size alone made it an apex predator but

what was really impressive and menacing

was its skull as it took up over 15% of

an individual's total body length and

not to mention that recovered skulls

were also extremely thick and had signs

of skull bossing which are bony

protuberances that indicate that this

Predator was made to bite and grapple

with powerful large prey yet

coincidentally like the smileton 250

million years after it the ridia did not

have a very strong bite with

reconstructions indicating a bite force

of around 715 Newtons only 20% more

powerful than the bite of a wolf which

really just shows how well-designed its

teeth were for piercing effortlessly

through flesh and tough hide like the in

transavia the rubidia would have been

able to alter entire ecosystems by its

Lonesome yet sadly for all it was almost

never alone as indirect evidence

suggests that it routinely coexisted

with other members of its subam it

consisted of nine Genera all ranging in

size from medium to large if this wasn't

bad enough it's now thought that it

coexisted within o transavia too since

both had a presence in late per and

South Africa given their similar size

and fairly similar builds the two most

likely shared the same predatorial Niche

likely leading to frequent conflict and

that all goes to say that this truly was

the planet of the gorgonopsids and their

dominating presence on land made water a

definite safer choice but just to really

prove the point I should also mention

that the late peran was home to many

other Predators too that were

nightmarish within their own right with

the most notable examples being the

Theos sealians in an emerging Trend this

Cade was once again thops and originated

during the middle perian although unlike

the gorgonopsids they had not achieved

such large sizes in this time although

they were equally widespread and

actually more diverse with species being

found across Russia Antarctica Africa

and China a small handful were even

herbivores but the vast majority were

predators who actually could have been

confused for gorgonopsids to the

untrained eye as They too had relatively

large skulls and similar body plants but

there were key differences with

theosyion tending to have broader deep

skulls smaller straight teeth shorter

bodies and more compacted builds and as

mentioned they were more diverse

resulting in many developing hunting

techniques not seen in gorgonopsids and

there were even a chance that a couple

namely the dog-sized Ichi bops and yuk

kersia were venomous which if accurate

would make them the first tetrapods to

have evolved Venom you also had ones

that are often interpreted as being

semi-aquatic creatures like the iido

suids While others were fully

terrestrial hunting large animals using

unusual saber teeth as showcased by the

sky laac of Swords but of all the Theos

fallans the one who stood out the most

was the moscar rinus a Jaguar sized

Predator with a lion sized head that was

equipped with numerous very sharp

conical teeth it disproportionately

large head suggested a fairly strong

bite and paleontologists think that it

hunted prey by pinning them down with

its powerful forelimbs before dealing

out damage with its razor sharp teeth

and powerful jaws and to further its

Legacy fossil records show the moscar

rinus was among the most abundant Theos

falion during the late peran and one of

the only non- gorgonopsids to have

achieved apex predator status perhaps

even replacing gorgonopsids in certain

environments but interestingly enough

while not as successful as moscar rinus

there were bigger Theos alans including

the mega whia a 3M or 9t long distant

relative of the moscar rinus who prowed

European Russia during the first half of

the linjian to date it is the largest

known thefallen and based on copper

lights AKA fossilized feces we know that

it likely fed upon large diodon which it

might have killed by using Venom

specifically some studies on its SK

seems to suggest that in life it had a

Venom gland and possibly multiple Venom

ducts that would have delivered fatal

amounts into prey while biting them

however because remains from its prey

tend to be in poor condition this claim

is not fully accepted by the

paleontology Community by this point the

lay peran should come across as a hectic

place with thalians and gorgonopsids

running about but even they were not the

entire Iceberg since there were still a

bunch of other carnivores all very

distinct and unusual in appearance for

starters you had the superficially Croc

likee protos suids who are slender but

could still be rather large and were

equipped with giant needle-like teeth

unlike the previously mentioned

carnivores this group were reptiles and

were either terrestrial or semi-aquatic

Hunters who were found on every

continent besides Antarctica and North

America then there was the Cronos sukia

who were again superficially cck-like

but had extensive armor along their

backs as well perhaps to help protect

against attacks from large therapsids

members of this group could be quite

different and were sometimes fully

terrestrial and other times semi-aquatic

and while there were usually no larger

than a monitor lizard some Genera like

the Ural Erton could get quite sizable

specifically in European Russia where

specimens grew to be the same size as

female American

alligators amphibians or rather

primitive amphibians were also present

and thriving on Pangia and we're

honestly the biggest reason why an

animal should be wey around fresh water

as many evolved to be specialized Ambush

Hunters that opportunistically fed on

anything they could catch in the water

or anything that ventured too close to

the water's edge of the numerous

families that existed arguably the most

lethal to humanized prey were the Ryan

suced a family of tetrapods from which

living amphibians likely descended from

each species had four limbs a fairly

long tail and body shapes akin to that

of giant salamanders or crocodilians the

largest member you could find in a body

of fresh water was the uran Centon a 13t

or 4 M Behemoth that resided in South

Africa along with our friends the

gorgonopsids and thalians talk about a

bad place to live and then in European

Russia that also had its fair share of

terrestrial Hunters there were the arago

Sor to make up for the missing Aran

Centon this was yet another tetrapodal

family but they were more slender and

narrow than the ryin suids but could

still get pretty big with certain Genera

like the melosa reaching 10 ft or 3 m

from head to tail

with so much going on it's hard to

believe that herbivores even managed to

survive but they sure did and across

large SES of penia you would have

stumbled into an array of D codons

codons capto rids and Par reptiles

compared to the carnivores herbivores

were actually more diverse and had

developed many tools to survive one of

the more famous herbivores was the

listra sorus a badger to Pig sized

diodon that was one of the most abundant

animals around it had a rather odd build

but it was not to be underestimated as

it sported powerful for liims and tusks

that it may have used to dig deep

Burrows that granted much needed

protection and interestingly enough the

art of digging seems to have been

relatively common as totally separate

groups like The cyop phids also learned

to burrow using their broad skulls to

displace large amounts of dirt then on

the opposite side of the spectrum you

had the parasaurs that took a different

route and became armored tanks kind of

similar to an kyos

minus the club tailes specifically

species in this CA often had large bony

scoots that were set into their skin and

had highly aifi dense heavy bones that

provided additional protection they were

also among the largest if not the

largest late perian animals to have

lived with the most famous member

scutosaurus having weighed over 1.2 tons

and being similar in length to large

gorgonopsids at this weight and given

its frame scutosaurus was a slow-moving

animal that relied on its armor to

survive and in its case its defensive

capabilities were further boosted by

spikes that adorned its skull and

muscles that were so dense that they

were basically impenetrable this

specific genus was only found within

European Russia but as a family the

parasaurs had a global distribution

additional herbivorous groups worth

mentioning include the kingor idop bent

Talia and dein day as wild as the L

perian was it did have one silver lining

which was that you didn't really have to

worry about looking up unlike the

Mesozoic which was home to Giant

parasaurs capable of eating literal

Dinosaurs the peran did not really have

any dangerous Giants patrolling the sky

there were the Griffin flies and paleo

dict diopter which could have given you

quite the scare but they were harmless

to large animals and weren't very

abundant nor diverse thanks to the

Carboniferous rainforest collapse of all

the things flying around the largest

animals were probably the velto sord a

family of gliding reptiles that grew no

larger than a big bat and while having

one in your hair would suck these guys

were only dangerous to insects and spent

most of their Days On Solid ground or

rather in the trees as their morphology

was highly developed for a boreal

movement to make up though for the

lackluster Skies the late peran had one

more trick up its sleeve so to speak and

that was Mother Nature itself if you've

been following along you may have

noticed that life seemed to be mostly

concentrated in a handful of places

mainly European Russia and Africa this

was because large chunks of land were

borderline uninhabitable with estimates

suggesting an average temperature of 35

C or 95° F making it twice as hot as the

present this oppressive heat contributed

to severe aridity that plagued the

supercontinent and resulted in

absolutely massive deserts near the

equator where life was fairly devoid to

make matters worse to the north you had

the central penan mountains an extensive

mountain range that span across the

entire horizontal length of the

continent and creating areas that were

prone to severe droughts to put this

into perspective if such conditions

popped up in the present life would take

a serious downturn and the crazy part is

is that this nightmarish climate was

rather tame for the late perian because

if you stick around long enough until

approximately 252 million years ago you

would have witnessed the Earth turned

into an apocalyptic Wasteland thanks to

the late perian Extinction otherwise

known as the great dying which is a

fitting name G considering was Earth's

worst Extinction event of all time it is

commonly believed that this doomday

event started from the eruption of the

Siberian traps or rather was caused by

the eruptions that created the Siberian

traps a large region of volcanic rock in

Siberia that's about the same size as

Western Europe these eruptions are

unlike anything ever seen by humanity

and decimated the entire planet causing

lava flows a kilometer or 0.6 Mi thick

and spewing out enough carbon dioxide

and sulfur to heat up the surface

surface even more in some places it's

thought that the average temperature

year round would have risen to be the

same as the average temperature of Death

Valley during its hottest month and if

you somehow had Supernatural heat

resistance you still likely die from

choking on the constant spewing of

different gases that led to a drastic

drop in oxygen leading to numerous

hypoxia events and just in case you

needed any more evidence that this time

was seriously messed up then also know

that some studies report that these

volcanic eruptions cause significant

damage to the ozone layer which may have

increased ultraviolet radiation by over

5,000% in some parts debates Linger on

how long these effects lasted but we do

know that by the end of them the Earth

was a very different place with 57% of

all biological families and 83% of jera

having gone extinct for comparison while

more abrupt the KT Extinction which

killed the dinosaurs only killed off

about 177% of biological families and

despite how bad things got on land life

in the water actually suffered even more

due to increased water temperatures and

acidification but if you took a dip you

wouldn't have burned to a crisp and you

may have actually enjoyed it considering

the seed temperatures during this event

were likely that of a Jacuzzi giving you

just one more reason why you'd rather be

in the water during this time than on

land thanks for watching and until next

time onx Zoo