Cañadón Asfalto Formation, Argentina, 178 Million Years Ago

The ascension of the sun heralds a new day over Argentina. Radiant beams crest over the silhouette of a dormant volcano, casting a misty glow across the expanse. Clouds drift lazily against the canvas of the sky transitioning from purple to blue. Retreating shadows yield to the advancing light, unraveling the landscape that will one day be northwestern Patagonia.

What lies is a verdant mosaic of lush forests interspersed with braided rivers. These woods comprise a plentiful canopy of conifers and cycads, dampened by the humid air. Giant Araycarias resembling today's kauri pine and bunya trees tower overall plant life here. These are to the forest what skyscrapers are to a modern city.

Below this shield of trees is a vast undergrowth dappled by the morning light. Blooming ferns intermingle with horsetails, carpeting the ground in abundance. Any part of the moist, dark brown earth not cloaked in vegetation is blanketed in mosses, lichens, and fungi. The soft light peering in reveals faint mist floating among the vast greenery.

Aside from the flying and buzzing of insects and the lizards that crawl up the trees, much of this area remains still and quiet. This near silence is abruptly broken by a branch plummeting and crashing to the ground. It quickly settles onto the dampened ground below as beetles start crawling all over it. These shelled creatures aren't the only thing attracted by the fallen limb.

The appearance of this branch also draws another type of organism native to this South American temperate forest. Scurrying out of the cover of the ferns are three Manidens. These small, agile creatures possess sleek, streamlined bodies carried by two long, hindlimbs. They also have a pair of short, yet strong forearms ending in clawed hands. Their heads are proportionately large with sharp, beady eyes. The front of their jaws sports a keratinous bill that hides a pair of sharp, needle-like tusks. Hidden in their cheeks are serrated, leaf-shaped teeth. Their bodies are entirely covered by dark brown, hair-like feathers, except for their hands and feet which are smooth and scaly with the same pigmentation as their plumage.

Among the three Manidens, the one adult female, Juana, is the largest despite being the size of a house cat at 2 feet long and weighing 20 ounces. She is accompanied by her two offspring, Enzo and Gael. As juveniles, they are only half the size of their mother, with whom they stick close.

The youngsters stand and stare at the branch in curiosity. Meanwhile, Juana starts to feast on the vibrant greenery on the branch as well as the beetles that crawl all over it. Enzo and Gael can learn what is safe for them to eat by observing their mother's eating habits.

The brothers prepare to step toward the branch, ready to start feasting. Their approach is quickly interrupted as something else catches their attention. They turn their heads to a thick batch of vegetation to their left where they hear a myriad of fluttering and buzzing noises.

Curiosity compels one of the youngsters as Enzo dashes into the greenery. Gael lets out a soft, bark-like sound but fails to stop his brother from entering the grove. He glances back at Juana, seeing her preoccupied with her continued feeding. His attention repeatedly shifts between his mother and the source of the sounds as she tries to determine what to do. Ultimately, Gael's choice is made as he runs through the ferns after Enzo.

***

It isn't before the lone youngster finds himself reunited with his brother. As he does, he emerges into a clearing of moist, dark brown dirt. This runs at the edge of an extensive lake surrounded by the greater forest with the dormant volcano overlooking the background. Shimmering light reflects off the mirroring surface of the freshwater, revealing the source of the mysterious noises.

Emerging from the water are masses of caddisflies. Every year, these insects sprout from the lake after going through a drastic metamorphosis. Having changed from an aquatic lifestyle to a terrestrial one, they litter the air near and above the lake in clouds of thousands.

Such an enormous gathering of these blooming insects attracts other residents. Fish spring from the lake water, clasping their jaws around the flies before returning with a great splash. Frogs resting along the shores use their elastic tongues to catch these sprouting bugs and pull them into their mouths. Now the young Manidens join in this mass feeding by jumping into the air and catching them in their jaws. This gigantic bloom of insects allows for many species a plentiful source of food with more than enough of them surviving to help create the next generation.

This assembly also attracts another kind of animal. One that lurks within a thick grove ready to strike at the earliest opportunity. It is an Eoabelisaurus, one of the earliest members of the abelisaur family of two-legged theropods. Like its later relatives, it possesses a robust, heavily built body with short, yet heavily muscled legs. By contrast, its forelimbs are drastically small while pointing backward. The tail of this carnivore is also short but still provides enough balance and agility. Its head is deep and robust with large, powerful jaws filled with strong, pointed teeth. Greenish brown pebbly, non-overlapping scales interspersed with sparse gray, bony bumps make up its hide.

Just like the fish, frogs, and young Manidens, the Eoabelisaurus has been drawn here by the sprouting of the caddisflies. However, it's not the insects that it's looking to feast on. Instead, its eyes are set on Enzo and Gael. At only 8 feet long and half as tall as the average human, this carnivore is small compared to later members of the abelisaur family such as Carnotaurus and Majungasaurus. Despite this, it will still make an easy meal out of the unsuspecting youngsters.

Gently the Eoabelisaurus creeps through the foliage towards the young Manidens. Pieces of vegetation brush against its skin as it moves through. Its footsteps are silenced by both its toe pads and the moist, mossy ground beneath them. Seconds of stalking bring the predator just a foot away from the oblivious brothers. It slowly starts to rise, peering its head out of the cover of the vegetation.

Suddenly, the young Manidens jump, all turning around. They freeze upon seeing Juana in a batch of ferns, screeching at them. Enzo turns around to see the Eoabelisaurus peering down at them. He immediately screeches, prompting Gael to follow him away from the clearing. The predator sprints at them, its jaws ready to clasp down onto their small bodies. Narrowly, the Manidens brothers evade the mouth of the Eoabelisaur as it falls to the ground. The smaller dinosaurs seize the moment to quickly run from the lakeside with their mother.

Their legs carry them quickly through the vast undergrowth. Pieces of fern and cycad slap them with every blink of an eye as they continue their escape. Gael looks back seeing the Eoabelisaurus tailing them.

The vegetation of their environment lessens as they travel further through the forest. In much of its place is the mossy, stick litter ground and the many trees that encase it in shadow. With the carnivore tailing ever closer, the Manidens quickly jump into a remaining patch of ferns.

With the chase paused, Juana pants heavily as she remains low in the greenery. Through holes in the foliage, she can spot the Eoabelisaurus creeping amid the mossy clearing. She takes a look back at her youngsters only to be met with shock. To the mother's surprise, neither Enzo nor Gael are in the fern batch with her. She produces a series of chirps all in the effort to find her offspring. Immediately, she hears the softer, higher-pitched chirps she's familiar with.

Upon turning to the direction of the sounds, however, Juana finds yet another inconvenience. Both Enzo and Gael are hiding in herbage on the opposite side of the clearing from her. Not only has the mother spotted them, but so has the Eoabelisaurus. It lets out a soft, low grumble as it approaches the helpless brothers.

With little choice, Juana pulls a desperate move. She bursts out of the cover of her foliage, letting out screeching noises as she sprints away. Puzzled, the Eoabelisaurus turns its attention to her. The young brothers use this moment to swiftly escape, following their mother's path. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop the predator from continuing to chase after them.

The Manidens jump and dash around the various roots in their path. Meanwhile, the Eoabelisaur's heavier frame causes the mossy wood to crumble and shatter with every step. The crashing and shattering of the buried bark grows ever louder with each passing second. Juana chirps at her offspring urging them to hurry their escape. Even so, both Enzo and Gael struggle to keep up as their exhaustion grows. Worse yet, all that's remaining of the foliage around her are many trees among the mossy ground. Against their lessening odds, the family continues, focusing their attention on one single tree.

Only a few feet away from the conifer, the Manidens maintain their speed. So does the Eoabelisaur as it gets ever closer to Gael. Upon reaching the tree, they instantly employ their last escape plan... climbing it.

Unlike many known dinosaurs, especially of its time, Manidens have adaptations that allow them arboreal traversal. This comes from a combination of their clawed hands as well as their feet which are similar to those of modern tree-perching birds. Such traits allow Jauna and her young to quickly scale the tall conifer.

Gael looks back, again seeing the Eoabelisaur open its jaws as it becomes ever closer. Rapidly, it climbs further up the tree, narrowly evading the pursuing predator. Rather than being met with a fresh meal, the abelisaur instead crashes its head into the conifer. The impact causes the whole structure to quake and for parts of its greenery to fall off. Dizzy, the carnivore sluggishly backs away as its head sways back and forth.

Upon doing so, a collective of chirps and screeches fill the air above the Eoabelisaur. It turns its head upward to find the source of the noises, an entire clan of Manidens. Nearly a dozen, including Juana and her offspring, stand in the branches of the single conifer. A few males are also present, sporting a mane-like structure of white plumage on their heads. The hair-like feathers stand up with every screech they make.

For the disoriented carnivore, these already loud noises have become ever more piercing and painful to listen to. A low and aggressive grumble escapes its mouth as it opens slightly. Ploddingly, the Eoabelisaur strolls away, ending its hunt in failure.

While the abelisaur may not have prey to feast on, the Manidens are now able to live to see another day. Juana lets out a series of soft chirps as she nudges both Enzo and Gael. They reciprocate the same actions, even as the rest of the Manidens start jumping away to other trees. Immediately, the mother and her offspring follow, springing effortlessly from branch to branch.

***

Half an hour has passed since Juana and her offspring escaped the jaws of the Eoabelisaurus with the help of their fellow clan mates. In such a short time, they've traveled a great distance without ever touching the ground. Like squirrels of our modern day, they pounce and scurry from tree to tree with great ease. Truly a Manidens' true domain.

Soon, they arrive at their true home within the world of the canopy. It is a great big conifer tree. Not only do its branches stretch out farther than any other in this forest, but its height is only exceeded by the sparser araucarias. This is not only the home of Juana, her young and her saviors, but the whole rest of her clan.

Over thirty other Manidens populate the branches of this great conifer. Much of their time here is spent either nibbling the abundant greenery of their home or resting on thicker branches in between ground foraging sessions. A few other females use holes in the trunk of the tree to nest their young in.

It is in one of these that Juana and her two juveniles retreat and begin their rest. Enzo and Gael are first to shove themselves in, immediately plopping into the dead vegetation of their nest. Their mother follows suit, laying down in between her two sons. Finally, after a morning of chaos, it's time for a nice doze.

Even as hours pass, this moment of quiet doesn't last forever. The trio's nest shakes from thundering thuds. Deep booms and creaking groans reverberate in the walls of their tree hole. Juana and her young are finally woken up by vibrations that travel across the tree. This shaking momentarily increases in response to loud snapping and crackling sounds. The mother and her offspring peer out of their hole to see the source of the ruckus.

Feeding off the limbs of the great tree is a herd of Patagosaurus. They are among the first true sauropods. Thus, they have the same long necks shared amongst their more well-known brethren. These necks support a small head with a mouth full of blunt teeth suited for cropping vegetation. Four, pillar-like legs support a short yet wide, 15-ton body. This combined with its neck and long tail creates an overall length of 50 feet. Their scaly skin is primarily India green with a pattern of diagonal, dark brown streaks and a cream underbelly.

These burgeoning giants are the source of the disturbance of the tree and in turn the Manidens. Patagosaurus regularly graze vegetation that lies in the forest canopy. This diet has put the great tree on their radar. Their feeding has caused the tree to repeatedly be shaken around. Such jostling is affecting the Manidens by waking their nest slumber but nearly causing some that rest on the branches to slip off. If the grazing continues, these tree dwellers could lose their homes or even die.

Though Manidens aren't without ways to prevent this. Males start to gather on the tips of the great tree's branches. Joining them is the alpha male, Bruno. He is distinguished by having the largest white feather mane, which also indicates his status as the eldest male. Such a status grants him leadership of the clan and the responsibility of keeping it safe.

Upon emergence, Bruno and the other males start letting out snorting, bark-like sounds mixed in with a few screeches. One Patagosaurus pauses his foraging to observe the patriarch's display. Its curiosity only lasts for a moment before it resumes feeding.

Bruno, however, has another strategy in mind. He looks upward and lets out a series of trilling, chirps. This prompts a group of Manidens higher in the tree to start snatching pinecones in their jaws. Once collected they drop the cones onto the Patagosaurs. The seed-bearers drop onto the sauropods and bounce off at an alarming rate. They shake their heads, freeing their eyes of seeds, but it doesn't stop the cones from pelting them. This tactic may only annoy the Patagosaurs at best, but it already sends the message that this tree isn't worth it. So, they march away in search of different forestry to graze from.

With the sauropods gone, Bruno lets out more of his chirps, signaling the other Manidens to cease the pinecone dropping. The clan then returns to their normal routines. Juana returns to her den, hoping to finally get a proper rest with her young.

Once again, the peace is disturbed. This time it isn't by predators or even other herbivores. Rather it's from another of their own. Amidst the usual chatter of other Manidens, Bruno starts to hear a familiar screech. It's much like the other clan members, but it didn't originate from any of them. The patriarch stares ahead at a neighboring tree. There he finds another elder male surrounding his clan.

This is Tomas, the leader of a rival clan. He is the same age as Bruno and just as ready to fight for his clan. Amongst groups of Manidens, competition is high for large conifer trees to call "home." Most other conifers are too small for their communities and the greater araucaria trees are too tall, making potential falls fatal. So, if Bruno loses to the invading clan leader, the odds of his group finding another home tree are slim.

Slowly, both patriarchs approach each other. The connected branches waver up and down as they grow ever closer. Members of both clans stare in wait at the impending fight. These spectators include Juana, Enzo, and Gael who remain huddled in their nest hole.

Wasting little time, Bruno and Tomas charge toward each other. They then clash with a flurry of clawing and bites. These small tree denizens become surprisingly lethal thanks to their hand talons and canine-like, tusk teeth. Crimson starts to partly stain their fur coats and mains less than a minute after starting their fight.

In this madness, Tomas manages to grip his jaws around Bruno. The resident patriarch shakes himself around to break from his rival's grip. He only frees himself as he's tossed backward.

Quickly, Bruno finds himself hanging from a branch by his hand talons. Tomas approaches to start biting and stomping at his rival's claws. Slowly, his grip loosens from the attacks and his own weight.

With only one hand left holding onto the branch, Bruno attempts to pull himself up. This soon stops as Tomas steps onto his enemy's fingers. He lets out a loud determinate screech as he stares down the resident patriarch. His foot presses harder and harder onto Bruno's fingers, making the risk of letting go ever greater.

For a moment, it seems Tomas may finally. However, a screech stops him mid-fight. He peers to his left finding young Enzo making the noises at him. Shortly, Gael and even Juana join in on the screeching too.

All Tomas could think to do was stare, baffled by these actions as only the alpha males are allowed to participate in clan clashes. Little does the rival patriarch realize that Bruno has seized the moment to finish climbing back up onto the branch.

Tomas suddenly retains focus, but only as the resident alpha deals a powerful kick to him. It sends the invader falling off the branch. He spins and twirls uncontrollably as he plummets to the forest floor below. His rapid descent is continuously interrupted by crashing into some of the many other limbs that extend from the tree.

Eventually, Tomas' fall ends with a bone-shattering crash into the ground. The resident clan chirps and screeches in a cheer while the invading clan lets out louder calls as their patriarch. With a wobble, the rival alpha stands and stares back up at Bruno. Filled with fury, Tomas lets out a screech ready to climb back up.

Abruptly, an unexpected contender interrupts the invading alpha's call of intimidation. The Eoabelisaurus rushes in from a nearby patch of ferns, snatching the beaten Manidens in its jaws. With a few shakes and a crushing bite, life exits Tomas' body. Now with a meal in mouth, the predator leaves for good.

Bruno and the rest of his clan glance toward the invading clan and screech at them. With no one among them to challenge the resident patriarch, Tomas' former clan retreats. Without a leader, the fate of the rival clan is uncertain. For Bruno, it's just one of many victories he's made in his many years of being the alpha.

The whole clan chirps, trills, and screeches, cheering their patriarch. Juana, however, once again returns to sleep with Enzo and Gael. The morning alone has been one wrought with danger from the start. Between hungry carnivores, hungrier herbivores, and even other members of their species, it can be a struggle to survive. Fortunately, when part of a clan, it's all just another day in the life of the tree dwellers.