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The
Story of Everything
An
abridged edition of The Urantia Book
Paper
60: Urantia During the Early Land Life Era
One hundred and forty million years ago two full-fledged reptiles suddenly appeared, from which sprang crocodiles, sea serpents, flying reptiles, and dinosaurs. Early dinosaurs were egg layers and had very small brains. Several million years later the first mammal appeared and quickly failed.
One hundred and twenty million years ago dinosaurs of all sizes had evolved. The larger dinosaurs required so much food that they starved themselves into extinction.
One hundred and ten million years ago sea urchins mutated into existence. Crabs and lobsters matured, and fish continued to develop. Sea serpents infested the seas and threatened the destruction of all fishes.
Ninety million years ago angiosperms, fig trees, tulip trees, and magnolias came into existence, followed by breadfruit trees and palms.
Sixty-five million years ago plant life evolved greatly with the appearance of modern-day trees such as beech, birch, oak, walnut, sycamore, maple and modern palms. Fruits, grasses, and cereals were widespread. These seed-bearing plants were second in evolutionary importance only to the appearance of man himself. Flowering plants mutated and spread all over the world.
Sixty million years ago land turtles measured twenty feet across. Modern‑type crocodiles and snakes thrived.
Fifty-five million years ago the ancestor of all bird life, a small pigeon-like creature, suddenly appeared. It was the third type of flying creature to appear on Urantia; it sprang directly from the reptilian group. This period marked the end of the continental drift and the buildup of modern mountains. Fern forests were largely replaced by pines and redwoods. By the end of this period, the biologic stage was set for the early ancestors of mammalian types.