Feature

Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Paleontologists probe the majestic reptiles’ origin and rise

By Alexandra Witze

- More than 2 years ago

Any 10-year-old knows how the dinosaurs met their end: A huge meteorite slammed into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula 65 million years ago, blasting the planet beyond anything imagined by Bruce Willis in Armageddon.

TRIASSIC NEIGHBORHOOD | Though some dinosaurs, such as a theropod called Coelophysis (D), did live in the late Triassic, they did not rule the landscape.