Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Earth that the dinosaurs inhabited look quite different than it does now. In fact, the entire landmass of the Earth was drawn together by continental drift into one giant supercontinent surrounded by a single ocean called Tethys. The continent itself was called Pangaea.
After a while, Pangaea gradually split into two separate parts. The northern landmass (containing the North American, Asian and European continents) gradually fractured and spread northwards. The southernmost landmass containing South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, and Australia) remained fairly intact and occupied the southern hemisphere. This southern hemispheric landmass was called Gondwanaland. At this time, Antarctica was attached to the southern boundary of Australia, forming an area that is known as polar Gondwanaland. Although polar Gondwanaland was located well within the Antarctic circle, the fossil records indicate that this area enjoyed a climate similar to that of the state of Oregon.
Paleobotanists report that Antarctica’s cool landscape was filled with beautiful conifers, ferns, evergreens, and a few flowering plants which spread patches of color across the vast land. Geologists report that great mountain ranges and volcanoes pierced the horizon and rivers flowed abundantly across the terrain. What is most important, is that scientists have discovered that within this enchanting and peaceful polar environment, a variety of life thrived there, including, animals we previously considered inhibited by cold environments, the dinosaurs.
In addition, along the southern cliff side of Australia, a region
that was once attached to polar Gondwanaland, the remains of
another Polar Dinosaur was unearthed that provided insight into
the remarkable ability of the dinosaur to evolve adapt and thrive in dark, cool environments. the dinosaurs name was LEAELLYNASAURA (Lee-Ellena-Saura):
PRE-ADAPTATION TO THE UNDERWORLD ENVIRONMENT.
In 1987, Paleontologist Tom Rich of the Museum of Victoria, Australia; discovered the fossilized remains of one particular polar dinosaur in an excavated tunnel on the southern tip of Victoria (South Australia) in a place called Dinosaur Cove. When he found this hipsilophodontid dinosaur, he discovered a 106 million years old fossilized treasure that revealed the extent to which dinosaurs were able to adapt and survive in the extremes of light and temperature. This miraculous find was called Leaellynasaura, after his daughter.
Leaellynasaura was a unique dinosaur in many ways. It was a large chicken-sized herbivorous dinosaur with bipedal posture, long legs and well-developed hands at the end of their front limbs. They also had large eyes set into their heads.
Behind their eyes, and even more amazing thing was discovered…
When Tom Rich discovered Leaellynasaura’s skull (right), he noticed that it also had an unusually large brain for a dinosaur of its the size and that its optical lobes (the ridge of the brain where messages are received from the eye and are translated into visual images) was extremely oversized and the dinosaur’s eyes were remarkably large. These cranial formations led Dr. Rich to believe that a major portion (almost sixty-five percent) of Leaellynasaura’s brain was completely dedicated to the processing optical information. ( Suggesting a dinosaur that is primarily nocturnal in their activity cycles.)
Place a card or piece of paper on the dotted line, bring your eyes close to the opposite end of the card or paper. Allow your focus to merge the two pictures. It can be seen in 3D! (courtesy: Quantas ‘Airways’ Syme projects)
Although Polar Gondwanaland had a climate much like that of northern Oregon or Scotland, Dr. Rich knew that the seasonal extremes through which the polar Gondwanaland environment fluctuated were as unique as were the dinosaurs that inhabited this ancient region of the planet. Any animal living in this southerly location would either have to migrate northwards during the four long months of winter cold and darkness or be physically adapted to living and thriving through such environmental extremes.
Leaellynasaura had proven later to be true.
Paleoclimatologists report that, even though the winter temperature fluctuations were long, dark months of polar winter, dinosaurs would have had to forage for food in either freezing or sub-freezing temperatures.
This means that Leaellynasaura-like dinosaurs may have had warm-blooded physiology far superior to any those dinosaurs living beyond the northern polar Gondwanaland boundaries. The sheer environmental stresses of living under these polar climates may have encouraged dinosaurs living in this region to evolve an evermore increasingly warmer blooded physiology in order to survive.
Together, these physical attributes answer the question as to the physical adaptability and physiological survivability of some of the dinosaurs in extreme environments. Gondwanaland dinosaurs, such as the lovely Leaellynasaura, were pre-adapted to living in dark, cool regions of the Earth…such as caverns and caves.
GOING, GOING…..DOWN
There are several reasons why it is possible that some of the polar dinosaurs may have been driven to seek the shelter of the Antarctic underworld.
- Given that Leaellynasaura-type polar dinosaurs must have been hypersensitive to light, the long Antarctic summer days may have forced some dinosaurs into a darker shelter in order to avoid bright light. As with most nocturnal animals, it is possible that they sought shelter in a cave or large caverns close to the surface of the earth.
- The windblown Antarctic winter nights may have also led the Leaellynasaura-like polar dinosaurs to seek shelter from the wind. Just as a cave or cavern opening became mankind’s first domicile, dinosaurs may have used such an inner earth opening as a shelter from such unfavorable winter conditions.
- Many creatures that were on the Saurian menu, sought the refuge of the underworld to escape their predators. When caves and cavern systems were used as a means of escape, unrelenting dinosaurs would have followed their prey as deep into the earth as possible to get “dinner.” Once inside, they may have noticed the agreeable conditions within the cave and later returned when winter draped itself over the Gondwanaland terrain.
These environmental conditions may have possibly created a dinosaur that was perfectly pre-adapted for living underground. Furthermore, it is also important to remember that Leaellynasaura was almost 110 million years old when Paleontologist Tom Rich discovered her remains in Dinosaur Cove, Australia. This means that as physiologically advanced as these polar dinosaurs appear to have been, they still had an additional 45 million more years in which evolution could perfect their designs so they could further explore their world and seek out new ecological niches in which they could adapt and thrive.
Paleontologists appear to be in agreement that dinosaurs of this type and from this region of the Earth were, most likely, amongst the last to walk the surface of the planet 65 million years ago.
Given the fact that this particular type of dinosaur was so highly adapted to a cool or cold climate and was able to see in the dark, could other advanced polar dinosaurs, such as Leaellynasaura, have been able to survive the cool, dark underground environment if they could find food and water? Could large-brained dinosaurs have entered one of the many ancient volcanic vents or lava tube caves that speckle the southern Antarctic continent (polar Gondwanaland) and discovered an underground ecological niche in which they could evolve undisturbed for millions of years? Perhaps in search for answers, we need to look as far as this very profound statement.
“Author Conan Doyle once dreamed of a plateau in South America that time forgot, where dinosaurs continued to reign. Reports earlier this year that Dwarf mammoths survived to early historical times, in islands of the coast of Siberia, give force to such speculation. If dinosaurs found a similar haven in which they outlived the rest of their kind, then we think polar Gondwana, including southeastern Australia, is a likely place to look for it.”
Patricia and Tom Rich, discoverers of Leaellynasaura
Scientific American, July 1993
Alas, even these great paleontologists appear to also dream of discovering survivors of the great dinosaur extinction!
And, according to their own words, they believe that polar Gondwanaland or Antarctica would be the place to search for evidence of their survival.
Thanks to paleontologists Dale Russell and Tom Rich, immensely important realities have been established that can support the hypothesis regarding saurian survival.
Scientific evidence now indicates that:
a) Dinosaurs could have eventually acquired the human-like physical form.
b) Some dinosaurs were perfectly “suited” for survival in the dark, cool underground environment.
c) If some dinosaurs were to have survived the disaster of 65 million years ago, a yet undiscovered haven the Antarctic regions may conceal the remains or actual presence of their descendants.