how long ago did dinosaurs live

Dinosaurs (the non-bird ones) lived from about 245 million years ago until their mass extinction about 66 million years ago.

Quick Scoop

So, how long ago did dinosaurs live?

• The first true dinosaurs appeared roughly 245 million years ago in the Middle Triassic Period.

• They disappeared in a mass extinction event about 66 million years ago , at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

• That means dinosaurs ruled Earth for around 165–180 million years in total.

If you imagine Earth’s history as a 24‑hour clock, dinosaurs show up late in the evening and vanish just before midnight, with humans appearing only in the last blink before the day ends.

When in Earth’s timeline?

• Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era (about 252–66 million years ago), often called the “Age of Dinosaurs.”

• This era is split into:
  • Triassic (early dinosaurs start appearing)

* Jurassic (many famous large dinosaurs evolve and spread)

* Cretaceous (the last wave of non‑bird dinosaurs before the extinction)

Fun perspective

Some famous dinosaurs were separated from each other by more time than separates us from T. rex today. For example, Stegosaurus lived about 150 million years ago, while T. rex lived about 72–66 million years ago, so Stegosaurus was already gone for tens of millions of years before T. rex ever appeared.

In plain terms: dinosaurs first showed up over 200 million years before us, and the last of the non‑bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years before humans arrived.

TL;DR: Dinosaurs lived between about 245 and 66 million years ago , dominating Earth for roughly 165–180 million years before going extinct in a huge global disaster.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.