Migration of meat-eating dinosaurs was delayed by million years. Why?

If you thought climate change is a recent problem, then you might have to rethink your belief because an interesting study has recently revealed that climate change may have been the reason behind late emergence of plant-eating dinosaurs.

It is being believed that plant-eating dinosaurs probably arrived in the northern hemisphere millions of years after the meat-eating species.

This delay of millions of years in the emergence and the migration of dinosaurs was probably caused due to climate change, scientists believe.

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A new way of calculating the dates of dinosaur fossils revealed that plant-eating dinosaurs, sauropodomorphs, were actually 215m years old and not 228m years old, as it was previously believed.

This has changed the previous belief and has revealed that there might not be any plant-eating dinosaur family in the northern hemisphere which was more than 215m years old.

On the other hand, examples of meat-eating dinosaurs have been found dating back to at least 220m years ago.

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The study lead author Dennis Kent of Columbia University believes the plant-eating dinosaurs were latecomers in the northern hemisphere.

As per his team's research, during the Triassic era — which was nearly 230m years ago, carbon dioxide levels were 10 times higher than the present day. the atmosphere was hotter with no ice sheets at the poles and two bands of extreme deserts on both sides of the equator — north and south.

This dryness might have led to fewer plants for the sauropodomorphs, making it difficult for them to survive the journey. The meat-eaters, on the other hand, had enough insects to survive.

Later, when carbon dioxide levels dropped to half nearly 215m years ago, plants started growing in the deserts, which led to the emergence of sauropodomorphs in the area.