COME WITH ME

A SIGHT TO SEE

TO TRAVEL THROUGH PREHISTORY

AND UNRAVEL LIFE’S MYSTERY

THE HISTORY OF EARTH YOU YEARN

THE PERIODS FROM THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE YOU WILL LEARN

THE CAMBRIAN IS STOP NUMBER ONE

541 MILLION YEARS IT BEGUN

WITH OCEANS AND SEAS ON THE RISE

STRETCHING FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE SKY

LIFE MAKES ITS DEPUTE, THAT’S WHAT I SAID

WITH TRILOBITES RESTING ON THE OCEAN BED

THE ORDOVICIAN IS ON OUR TRIP NEXT

STARTING 485 MYA, ACCORDING TO OUR GEOLOGY TEXT

LIFE CONTINUES TO DIVERSIFY

IN THESE MURKY SEAS NEW CREATURES SWIM BY

THEY INCLUDE INVERTEBRATES, SUCH AS BRACHIOPODS

THESE INCLUDE MOLLUSKS, SEA STARS, AND CEPHALOPODS

AFTER THE HALT OF THE ORDOVICIAN

443 MYA STARTS THE SILURIAN

THE FIRST VASCULAR PLANTS EVOLVE

UNFORTUNATELY, MUCH LIFE DESOLVE

BUT OUT OF THE FOGGY THAW

COMES THE FIRST FISH WITH A JAW

THEN COMES THE DEVONIAN, RISE OF THE FISH

GOBBLING THEIR BRETHEREN IN A TASTY DISH

THESE INCLUDE LOBE-FINNED, RAY-FINNED, AND SHARKS

SWIMMING FREELY IN THEIR WATERY PARKS

THE WATER DISMISSES, LEAVING GLOPS OF SAND

GIVING NEW CREATURES THEIR OWN FREE LAND

WE JUMP TO THE CARBONIFEROUS

WITH THE FIRST TREES LOOKING MARVELOUS

ALL THE CRITTERS MOVE ON

TO THE LAND OF A NEW DAWN

THEY FORM INTO AMPHIBIANS WITH MEGA BITES

AS WELL AS INSECTS THE SIZE OF KITES

THE PERMIAN CREEPS ONTO THE SCENE

WITH A LAND COVERED IN LUSCIOUS GREEN

THIS LAND FORMS A SUPERCONTINENT

A LAND CALLED PANGAEA, IS WHAT I MEANT

DISPITE NEW FINDS IN THE GEOLOGIC HISTORY

90% OF ALL LIFE PASSES AWAY; QUITE A MYSTERY

THE MESOZOIC BEGINS WITH THE TRIASSIC

LIFE STARTS AGAIN WITH A GIANT KICK

THE DINOSAURS TAKE THE CENTER STAGE

STOMPING THE GROUNG IN THUNDEROUS RAGE

PLATEOSAURUS, EORAPTOR, AND COELOPHYSIS

NONE OF THEM ANY NEAR THE NICEST

200 MILLION YEARS ENDS THE TRIASSIC

AND KICK STARTS MY FAVORITE PERIOD THE JURASSIC

GIANTS ROAMED UNDER THE SCOURCHING SUN

YET THEY MAKE ROOM FOR THEIR FUN

THESE GIANTS INCLUDE STEGOSAURUS AND ALLOSAURUS

ALONG WITH LONG-NECKS LIKE APATOSAURUS

THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD MARKS THE END

OF A PREHISTORIC DYNASTY MY FRIEND

THE LAST OF THE DINOSAURS MAKE THEIR FINAL STAND

BEFORE THEIR HOME BECOMES A BARREN WASTELAND

A METEOR FROM THE HEAVENS FALLS BELOW

CREATING A HELLISH LANDSCAPE 65 MILLION YEARS AGO

FEAR NOT BECAUSE LIFE DOES NOT CONCLUDE

THE MAMMALS RISE UP IN SEARCH OF FOOD

THEY STARTED OFF SMALL IN THE PALEOGENE

A PERIOD WHERE GRASS GROWS GREEN

TINY HORSES, TERROR BIRDS, AND TITANBOA APPEAR

ALONG WITH RHINOS CALLED BRONTOTHERE

THE NEOGENE PERIOD COMES LATE

WITH THE LARGEST MAMMALS TO DATE

HORSES, ELEPHANTS, AND PIGS OH MY

AND EARLY APES REACHED FOR THE SKY

YET THERE IS A CHANGE IN THE TIME SO OLD

THE TEMPERATURE STARTS TO BECOME VERY COLD

OUR TRIP, UNFORTUNATELY, HAS COME TO A CLOSE

AT THE QUATERNARY PERIOD I SUPPOSE

ON THE ICE MAMMOTHS AND SABRE-TEETH TIGERS WALK

AND EARLY HUMANS CRAFT TOOLS AND LEARN TO TALK

WE BEGAN DEVELOPING CIVILIZATIONS THAT STAY

FROM 10,000 YEARS AGO TO THIS DAY

BEFORE YOU GO, I THANK YOU AGAIN

FOR EXPERIENCING THIS JOURNEY TO THE END

I HOPED YOU LEARNED SOMETHING FROM THIS TALE

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

Look at this photo

What do you see

Just rocks and sand

I see something more

I see what was once living

An intersection of invertebrates

Now petrified by time

A perfectly preserved relic of life

Look very closely at the picture above

You may spot a shell or two

A mollusk and maybe corral

Which tells us its origin is from a marine 

Yet we only scratched the surface

Many secrets remain hidden

Such as how old are these specimens

And what aquatic basin was their home

Now you know how paleontology works

Uncovering each prehistoric mystery through time

By studying the rocks within our earth

And observing things from a paleo's point of view

It's pretty obvious what type of animal I'd want to be

A dinosaur is the kind of animal for me

But what kind dinosaur of the east and west

Would fit me the best

I could be vicious as Tyrannosaurus

Or peaceful like Apatosaurus

How about a fast Velociraptor

or maybe a small Microraptor

Carnotaurus, Stegosaurus, Iguanadon

Yutyrannus, Ankylosaurus, Troodon

Utahraptor, Gallimimus, Triceratops

Nothronychus, Minmi, Protoceratops

So many dinosaurs so much fun

One too many to pick, I can't choose one

Egypt 95 million years ago

Long before the pyramids were built 

Laid a marshy land of water and silt

Marching through the muck so slow

A herd of Paralititans with their necks hang low

They keep moving to hide away their guilt

Of leaving their own behind with knowledge of blood spilt

By carnivorous Carcharodontosaurs who satisfy their hunger without care and woe

Nearby the legendary Spinosaurus plops into the water like duck

The cool water feeling refreshing to this aquatic beast

With the hopes that with some luck

It can have a fishy breakfast feast

Meanwhile in the skies the pterosaurs Alanqa squawk and cluck

As they make their migration back home east

Shadows slumber as the sun goes down behind the mountainside of prehistoric Alberta, 75 million years ago. Most of the dinosaurs in the region will be settling down to sleep until the morning. But not this eight-foot long, large-eyed, slender predator that waltz through the darkening forest. This dinosaur is Troodon. Her long tail, colorful feathers, and killer claws may have one misidentifying her as her very distant relative Velociraptor, but what separates her and Raptors is her highly intelligent brain.

A full-functioning organic machine powers the small predator, giving her a new thought and a planned strategy of survival. Now the brain has provided a new thought: food. Yet a new thought conjures around her intellect: how to get food.

Bouncing around the dark forest her large owl-like eyes scan every rock and moss in for her next meal. From a distance she hears a grunts of a herd of Pachyrhinosaurs, the smaller bony-nosed cousin of Triceratops. She's seen these brutes before. They may not have the horns of their younger cousins but their heavy skulls have the strength to knock down the tallest trees and their tails are powerful enough to shatter every bone in her body. So obviously the Rhinos are off the menu.

But about the infants, her charged brain ponders. She ate newborns and eggs before, but never had the chance to try a baby Pachyrhinosaurus. Yet the infants will stay close to the parents. Adult Rhinos won't hesitate to kill anything that aims to harm their young. Adults and infants will not be for supper.

The Troodon pauses. Her strong nostrils detects a powerful, tangy stench that warns her of danger. Urine is in this area. She knows that this smelly urine is from the larger carnivore Albertosaurus. It may be a smaller cousin of the famous T-Rex but still just as dangerous. The carnivore once passed through this forest and marked it as its territory. She scurries forward. Sticking around here would be her greatest mistake.

Then her binocular vision catches a small blob move across a dead log. Five feet away she spies on a rodent gnawing away on a small red fruit, unaware of her presence. Sparks fly all around her brain. Dinner is about to be served. But she must be quick or else this critter will become fast food.

Quiet as a tomb the feathered phantom slowly encroaches the rodent's spot with each careful step. The rodent remains oblivious of its stalker creeping from behind. Her brain kicks into overtime warning her to be cautious for the slightest misstep will alert her prey. 

At the right time, she pounces at the rodent. A series of small dagger-pointed teeth spring out of her opening maw. The rodent could barely flinch as her killer jaws clench around its fury body, multiple rows of teeth puncture through the tiny organs and bones. With a couple fast chomps the butchered rodent treks down into the Troodon's throat. Another successful hunt for the world's smartest night hunter

Once accused of being a notorious thief

However new evidence discouraged that belief

Oviraptor was a mother

Unlike any other

She died guarding her clutch in the sands beneath

They say that dragons are only part of folklore. That they are they are only capable of guarding treasure, breathing fire, and capturing princesses. But dragons are real.

At least, they once were real. No, they did not shoot fire from their gut, or prevented a certain plumber from saving a damsel in another castle. This dragon did fly, but in water not in the air. And without wings.

This ancient dragon that swims across the great seaway that would later erode and dry into a landscape known as North Dakota is called Plioplatecarpus. He was much smaller than is cousin Mosasaurus but just as deadly. This beast glided weightless across the warm salty sea, his serpentine eyes scanning the horizon. He then spots a speck of movement. An injured Ammonite bobbing up and down rang Plioplatecarpus' dinner bells. With a great thrust from his flipper-like limbs, Plioplatecarpus lunged towards his prey.

CHOMP! The killer jaws severed the poor Ammonite from its empty shell. The other portion minced into a bloody cloud of bits and meat as Plioplatecarpus swallowed it whole.

Remember, not all dragons appear in fairy tales. They were more real than you could imagine.

Jurassic Park created an icon

But also crafted a lie

This animal was much smaller

With feathers but cannot fly

It flocked with a pack

In the Mongolian sand

Watch out for its attack

When you cross its land

The killing claw is its most powerful tool

To battle with it makes one a fool

You can't out run it for swift thief is its name

A name that will live long in dino fame

Massive ball of fire

Blazed a land of pyre

Chaos reigned

Life strained

After this devastating hell

The dinosaurs fell