Ancient Earth

Planet Earth was inhabited by many wondrous creatures throughout the Permian period. Massive geologic changes finally allowed life to thrive on land and sea, producing voracious saber-toothed carnivores like Gorgonopsid and the terrifying 40-foot shark Helicoprion. But it couldn't last forever...

After the Permian period, the epic saga of evolution and extinction on Earth produced the world's first dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and pterosaurs. They dominated land, sea and air until another period of extreme volcanism generated vast waves of lava and toxic gas and killed roughly 75% of all species.

The Cretaceous was the golden age on ancient Earth, with magnificent and terrifying dinosaurs ruling the land until an asteroid collision.

Before the dinosaurs giant insects once dominated the earth. Using new technologies that combine genetics ethology geology and even particle physics paleontologists are discovering what happened to these ancient creatures.

Paleontologists are using new technologies to prove that there were far more feathered dinosaurs than previously believed.

This Earth Month let your curiosity roam free.