The Adventure of Halftoys Dinos! What Caused Their Demise? -LearnPlay Edition.

Long before the Chicxulub meteorite hit the shore and eventually buried itself under the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, the Earth experience hundreds of volcanic eruptions, and its ecosystems suffered the consequences. These conditions brought the dinos—Tricera, T-Rex, Diplo, Ankylo, Stego, and Para—to work and try their best to make it out! After the meteorite hit, darkness fell over the planet for more than two years. At this time, some animals thrived while others didn’t. Eventually, the dinos all went extinct.

Tricera

• The last dinosaur standing
• Close to the k-t boundary line (the line separating the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods
• Likely because of the meteorite strike that hit Earth at the Yucatan peninsula 

A popsicle can go a long way! Tricera’s knapsack, fan, and the food on his stick were always wrapped around him tight so he never lost a thing. The knapsack carried all of his supplies: different kinds of food to put on the string attached to his horn whenever he needed the motivation to keep going! The fan cooled the air around him to protect from the rising temperatures, so he always kept up with everyone else. Once the meteorite hit, he was left by himself. Despite being alone, he was able to survive for a long time! Tricera was one of the last standing dinos after the big meteorite hit the planet and the volcanic explosions shook the ground. 

T-Rex

• Tended to eat triceratopses but we’ll just say they fought a lot we are family-friendly here 
• Also one of the last ones alive

T-Rex was considered a leader of sorts. Despite his tiny arms, he carried a lot of the worries that plagued the rest of the dinos as volcanoes started erupting. With his hat, backpack, and the water canteen slung around his neck, he ran headfirst into his journeys and led the way out with confidence (but was really bad at keeping the water safe along the way…). As one of the last dinos, he stood on his two feet as strong as ever and survived until the end. 

Diplo

• Rapid decline at the end of the Jurassic period (right before Cretaceous) 
• One of the first to go? 

Behind her straw hat and neatly tied bow, Diplo was one of the strongest dinos. She was able to see miles ahead and was able to warn of any troubles that came ahead of them. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to stick with the group for long. Her home and ecosystem were slowly declining even before the volcanic eruptions and the huge meteor that struck the planet. Along with Stego, she had to leave to go back home and do what she could to help. Even though Diplo wasn’t able to stay, she survived for a long time. 

Ankylo

• One of the less intelligent ones, a herbivore, one of the last dinosaurs 

Despite all of her armor, Ankylo was on the clumsy side. With the bones on her back and strong tail, her knee pads, and sturdy helmet gave her some of the ultimate protection. She often volunteered to run headfirst into things (literally) because she knew that she could take everything that came her way. Because of all of her armor, the volcanoes and meteor did little to fully hold her down. When separated, she survived a long time and came to be one of the last dinos to survive. 

Stego 

• One of the first to go between the Jurassic and Cretaceous eras 
• Likely because of environmental changes
• Also not the brightest ._. 

Stego became a food collector. The plates on his back acted like skewers to store food (and a few snacks he snuck onto there for himself), and as a way to help the dinos carry extra bags and the tools they needed! With the flag tied to one of his backplates and the flashlight hat secured tightly around his head, the dinos trusted him to light the way so they never got lost. Like Diplo, he had to go home early on because his ecosystem was in danger. Even though he had to leave early, the rest of the dinos never lost their way again as they always remembered Stego. 

Para 

• Pretty intelligent?
• Duck-billed dinosaurs
• The crest was theorized to be used as a communication tool 
• Late cretaceous period so not jurassic 

As one of the smaller dinos, Para felt like he lacked a lot when compared to the others. Even so, he tried his best to become a protector since he was small and more agile. He always kept a rope and his special shovel with him in case he needed to get out of sticky situations. He made sure to keep the dinos safe, especially when the planet around them got more and more dangerous. With his tools and a sharp mind, he was able to keep up when the dinos got separated. Even though he couldn’t keep the other dinos safe anymore, Para thought about them until the end. 

When the dinos were still alive millions of years ago, the Earth was way different from the one we know today! As archaeologists discover unique fossils and dig deeper into the planet, we discover more and more about these dinosaurs.  Although we can’t go back in time ourselves, we can still learn about what life was like for them. If you’d like to discover more about these adorable dino toys, visit LearnPlay to join along the journey with them!