The dinosaurs always seem to us to be particularly impressive animals, thanks to their shapes, the sizes that some of them reached and the fact that we know that they 'ruled' the earth for over 150 million years.
This makes us think that each of them lived hundreds of years - but the truth is that most of them lived less years than most of the animals that exist today that are close to them in size and shape.
We enlisted the help of Claude to eradicate this misconception.
Most dinosaurs did not have a long lifespan.
Growth rings preserved in the fossils of various types of dinosaurs indicate that even giant species typically died before the age of 30—much younger than massive modern creatures like whales and elephants, which can reach three-digit ages.
For example, a female Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue died around age 28, while duck-mouthed vegetarian dinosaurs rarely lived longer than 20 years.
This fact surprises not only you: scientists have been puzzled by these differences, because large animals today often reach an advanced age, thanks to a slower metabolism than small animals that live only a few years, and even less.
So why did the dinosaurs live so little?
Part of the explanation may be their incredibly fast growth, fueled by a high metabolism, unlike typical reptiles today.
Some reached their full size in only 3-5 years, compared to today's large mammals, which mature over years.
This rapid maturation, combined with high-frequency culture, led to a high-paced life.
Even at the end of the age of the dinosaurs, when some species began to grow more slowly, they reached a lifespan of about 60 years, which is still significantly shorter than most large mammals today.
The process of natural selection in that era did not reward longevity, unlike the process in later times that favored mammals that reproduce much less frequently and live longer.
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