MESOZOIC ERA

The Mesozoic Era began about 251 million years ago, and ended about 65 million years ago. The Mesozoic Era is broken up into 3 main periods, Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. The first dinosaurs, and earliest crocodiles appeared during Mesozoic Era. This era is even known as the “Age of Reptiles” because dinosaurs were existent.

TRIASSIC PERIOD

The first period of the Mesozoic Era is the Triassic Period. This period began 251 million years ago. At the beginning of this period all of Earth’s life existed on the super continent known as Pangaea.

TRIASSIC PERIOD

There was not a lot of ocean life during this period. The first corals appeared during this period, although other organisms had already existed such as sea urchins and mollusks.

TRIASSIC PERIOD

Reptiles like the ichthyosaur and plesiosaur appeared during this period. Ancient squid and fish were some of the other marine life, and these organisms served as prey for the aforementioned reptiles.

TRIASSIC PERIOD

Amphibians like frogs and salamanders first appeared during the Triassic Period as well. A species of flying reptiles known as Pterosaurs appeared during this era as well. One of the very first mammals, the Eozostrodon, developed during this period.

TRIASSIC PERIOD

Two of the first dinosaurs were the Coelophysis, a carnivore, and the Plateosaurus, a herbivore.

TRIASSIC PERIOD

The Triassic Period was ended by either a volcano, or an asteroid, which caused another mass extinction. However, dinosaurs, and a few other organisms of this period, survived. This period ended 200 Million Years ago.

JURASSIC PERIOD

The second period, and most well known period of the Mesozoic era, is called the Jurassic. The movie Jurassic Park is named after this period! This period began 200 million years ago.

JURASSIC PERIOD

The split of the super continent into two halves only continued during this era. Laurasia broke into Eurasia and North America. Gondwana’s eastern half broke into Australia, India, Antarctica, and Madagascar, and Africa and South America both broke from its western half. New oceans formed and climate change around the Earth resulted from this.