<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > introduction</h1>
With the change of geological epochs on earth several times, changes in the biological chain have followed. Until the Quaternary Ice Age human beings appeared and began to develop, today human civilization has become the deserved first hegemon. So before that, who is the real overlord of the earth?
Counting every biological chain before the "Neogene", dinosaurs and marine life occupied the top of the biological chain. But who would have thought that there was a creature that was equally powerful, and had almost dominated the earth several times. They're crocodiles.
Although it has a small short hand, it is not cute
Crocodiles hide in river bends and lake swamps all year round, using sneak attacks as a hunting method, dragging their prey into the water and drowning them before eating. When it comes to dominating the earth, we have to compare crocodiles with dinosaurs. At present, the largest crocodile in the world is the bay crocodile, also known as the man-eating crocodile, which can reach a maximum of 9 meters and a maximum weight of 1.4 tons.
Compared with dinosaurs, the size of crocodiles may not be enough to see, but crocodiles are born in the same period as dinosaurs, and they are hard power species that compete with dinosaurs for territory.
Crocodile battle dinosaurs
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > the evolution and evolution of crocodiles </h1>
More than 4 billion years after the birth of the earth, human beings divided the earth into several stages according to biological characteristics, and crocodiles were born in the Triassic period of the Mesozoic Era, about 200 million years ago.
During the Triassic period , most vertebrates began to evolve , with the emergence of slotted reptiles. Until the Late Triassic, one of the early subspecies of crocodiles, the Fasola crocodile, appeared, with a body length of up to ten meters. At that time, the dinosaurs on land had not yet formed a hegemonic position, and the Fasola crocodile became a dominant big man.
Crocodiles in the late Triassic period dominated the land, and in addition to the Fasola crocodile, there were also velociraptor crocodiles, lizard crocodiles, and frog-tearing crocodiles. They can walk upright and resemble dinosaurs but are actually the ancestors of crocodiles. Feeding on terrestrial vertebrates, it was one of the top predators of the time.
Lizard crocodile
During the Jurassic period, the land was gradually occupied by dinosaurs, and because many animals and plants were in the stage of recuperation, dinosaurs waited for the opportunity to dominate the earth and gradually became the most prosperous dominant species on the earth. Reptiles go out to sea to make a living, and crocodiles are one of them. In the sea, the crocodile family gave birth to the ferocious marine crocodile, the king Of Macimo crocodile, which even preyed on dinosaurs.
With the migration of continental plates, a stable situation is formed between land and sea, and the earth's environment becomes more suitable for animals and plants to survive. With the emergence of a large number of mammals and giant snakes, crocodiles have completely lost control of the land and are unable to stand alone in the ocean. And because of the extinction of the king Marchimo crocodile, the crocodile finally turned its eyes to the rivers and lakes.
The Cretaceous period finally allowed the crocodile to seize the opportunity, and through continuous evolution the crocodile family finally ushered in the largest member, the emperor crocodile. Completely dominate the freshwater wetlands and become the ruler of the swamps.
Predators in the swamp
After the Cretaceous period, crocodiles successfully evolved a species that could live freely in the ocean, the Tethys crocodile. Escaping the great demise of the Cretaceous, the "bloodline" of the smooth crocodile was preserved. Later, it evolved into "forest crocodile" and "Sibe crocodile". To this day, crocodiles remain one of the fiercest predators in the biological chain.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="19" > the heyday of crocodiles </h1>
Speaking of crocodiles, the most prosperous period is the Cretaceous Period. The emperor crocodile is one of the largest crocodiles that have ever survived on the earth, they even feed on small dinosaurs, up to 13 meters long and sensitive senses make the crocodile run amok, there is no "dinosaur" to stop.
Like crocodiles today, they lurk in wetlands and rivers, waiting for their prey to arrive, drowning and tearing them apart. In the Cretaceous period where dinosaurs were rampant, the crocodile family, a member of the emperor crocodile, also occupied its own place on the earth.
The biggest one is the Emperor Crocodile
In addition to the imperial crocodile, the Cretaceous period occupied the dominant position in the wetlands. The crocodile's name comes from the description given to it by science and technology as a "terrifying giant crocodile". Because of its huge size and fierce attack ability, the crocodile deserves to be the master of the shallow sea river beach, and the crocodile will even attack the Alberta dragon that inhabits the same habitat as him.
Albertaurus was the top of the food chain on land before the appearance of Tyrannosaurus rex, and crocodiles of this magnitude were likely to clash with dinosaurs of this magnitude in terms of territory or food. Crocodiles have also become the representative "figures" of the crocodile family's hegemonic side.
There is a crocodile that is not well known, but not small in size, and it is also a spiny cavity crocodile from the Cretaceous Period. Although only fossilized skulls have been found, scientists speculate that it is at least 10 meters long and weighs up to 6 tons, based on the size of the skull, and is a well-deserved prehistoric crocodile.
Reduction diagram of acanthoccal crocodile without echinocos
Although the size of the giant crocodile is up to the standard, the habits of the spiny cavity crocodile are too mild. They lived where land and sea meet and shared the same habitat as many large dinosaurs. Spiny crocodiles have a large mouth like Daigo, survive like baleen whales by sucking fish, do not actively attack the creatures around them, and like to lie lazily on the beach to bask in the sun.
Due to the Cretaceous period, the environment-friendly organisms on Earth almost reached a survival balance. The spiny crocodile bears the title of giant crocodile, although it does not take the "territory" for the crocodile family to dominate the side, but the spiny crocodile has an advantage in size, and its huge body shape makes many attackers prohibitive.
The next crocodile does not belong to the Cretaceous, it comes from the Late Miocene period 8 million years ago, and it is the Prussian crocodile, one of the prehistoric giant crocodiles. It is estimated that the Prussian crocodile can reach a body length of 12.5 meters, weighs 8 tons, and has a violent temperament and infinite power. Its bite force surpassed that of the T. rex, and it was the top predator in existence at the time, preying on water and land at will, dominating South America.
Prussian crocodile skull
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > Earth's "target" </h1>
Crocodiles did dominate one side at a time, but they were not invincible. It can be said that the crocodile family is really unlucky! For two hundred million years, Hui hui was "targeted" when he was about to dominate the earth, what does this mean?
The great demise of the late Triassic led to the mass extinction of living things, and the division of continental plates led to a strong volcanic movement, which was the strongest volcanic movement since the formation of the continent. Large-scale volcanic eruptions, increased carbon dioxide led to global warming, and the living environment was seriously damaged.
The "gates of hell" are open
During this great extinction movement, crocodiles lost their first opportunity to dominate the earth, and most of the remaining crocodiles were smaller and more flexible species, did not have the ability to dominate the earth, and only waited for the "opportunity".
It was not until the Jurassic period that crocodiles entered the ocean. During this period, dinosaurs began to grow and develop, firmly controlling the land under the control of various types of dinosaurs.
In the late Jurassic Period, the arrival of the monarch Marchimo crocodile gave the crocodile family a glimmer of hope, but at this time, marine dinosaurs also began to evolve.
King Marchimo crocodile compared to human body size
The monarch Machimo crocodile is about 9 meters long, but the marine dinosaur cetacean can reach a body length of 18 meters. Although there are studies that prove that the Macimo crocodile once attacked cetaceans, there are not a few giant fish and giant dinosaurs in the ocean from the late Jurassic to the early Cretaceous, and the king Marchimo crocodile still repeatedly jumps on the verge of domination.
Finally, in the great destruction of the earth, the legendary sea crocodile of the king Marchimo crocodile was also extinct in the great washing of the earth's renewal.
As mentioned earlier, the Cretaceous period was the most prosperous period for crocodiles, and crocodiles finally found the most suitable habitat for themselves - the shoals and swamps of rivers, lakes and seas, and dominated them. The Cretaceous period was also the most prosperous period of dinosaurs, of which Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the predators who lost the top of the case at that time, and Tyrannosaurus rex was a type of tyrannosaurus rex. The emperor crocodile and crocodile, distributed in the early and late Cretaceous periods, ran through the entire Cretaceous wetland ruler status.
Tyrannosaurus rex
Before the crocodile rose to dominate the earth again, a mass extinction began, and the "Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event" completely interrupted the crocodile's domination of the earth.
This extinction event destroyed 80% of the species, including dinosaurs, and a variety of plants and invertebrates also became extinct in this event. Large crocodiles have also lost the opportunity to dominate the earth, and they are also extinct.
But many mammals and birds escaped the purge, and some small crocodiles also survived by hiding in the oceans and rivers and lakes, the forest crocodile is the crocodile that survived the mass extinction. They have enough food and a suitable living environment.
Restoration of forest crocodiles
Just as the forest crocodile began to occupy the rainforest and rush out of the wetland, the Paleocene-Eocene extreme heat event once again hit the crocodile hard. The earth is heating up sharply, the world is rapidly warming, and this extreme heat event has disrupted the earth's water cycle, and crocodiles as cold-blooded animals naturally cannot survive normally. At the same time, the warming climate also gave birth to a major enemy of crocodiles - Titan pythons. This forest python can even swallow crocodiles raw, and the position of overlord changes hands.
After the rapid heat began to cool down rapidly, the Titan python could not survive in an environment below thirty-two degrees Celsius and gradually became extinct. The crocodile reappeared, and the Sibel crocodile rose rapidly. Also rising is the descendant of the dinosaurs, the Bird of Terror, and although the Sibe Crocodile is the premier predator at the time, the characteristics of the Bird of Terror are also very powerful, and the two have opened up thousands of years of supremacy. Eventually the Sibel crocodile became extinct in the harsh climate of the late Miocene.
Bird restoration diagram
During the Late Miocene, the appearance of the Prus crocodile brought the light to the crocodile family. It was the largest crocodile species of its time, the top predator, but eventually became extinct to its advantage. Since there is no predator of the same magnitude to match it, its opponents are only of the same kind. Their bodies are too large, their survival is too dependent on the environment, and once the habitat is destroyed, the Prussian crocodile will be the first to go extinct.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="52" > the current status of crocodiles </h1>
After 200 million years of continuous evolution, crocodiles have finally retained 23 species of crocodiles, which are listed as endangered and protected animals internationally. They still live in shoals and swamps according to the habits of their ancient ancestors, but they no longer have the ambition to dominate the earth. Due to the development of humans, the living environment of crocodiles is getting worse and worse, and then there is a lot of news that crocodiles attack humans.
Crocodile: Not cool
Humans even kill crocodiles in order to make huge profits, and crocodile blood, skin, and fat are profitable for humans. Blood can be made into drugs to treat tumors, and fat can be made into crocodile oil with beauty and beauty effects. The most famous is all kinds of bags and clothing made of crocodile skin, although many famous brands have announced that they will no longer use crocodile skin to make goods, but there are still bad merchants in order to seek huge profits, poaching and slaughter.
To this end, many countries have started crocodile farming, selling artificially farmed crocodiles to protect the survival status of wild crocodiles in disguise. Crocodiles escaped the horrors of the earth's mass extinction, but they did not escape the selfish interests of humans.
Captive crocodiles
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="59" > conclusion</h1>
To this day, crocodiles still stand firmly in the biological chain. It came from 200 million years ago, with the tenacity of the species's bloodline to survive to this day, sticking to the habitat chosen by its ancestors, but it has been defeated by human encroachment. From more than a hundred crocodile species in the Triassic to 23 species today, crocodiles have survived under the control of human civilization and have no possibility of domination.
The crocodile's difficult life has been preserved by natural selection, but it has never been able to resist the invasion of human civilization. Before humans appeared, crocodiles had survived several geological epochs on Earth in order to dominate. Crocodiles are the "old ancestors", and humans should respect the earth and respect the species.
Crocodile: I'm too hard