CATEGORIES

Information The Triassic Period is when the Mesozoic Era first began. The term "Age of
Reptiles" is widely used, and with good reason: At the time, land-dwelling
vertebrates were dominated by reptiles, especially dinosaurs.

Geologic Time 251.9 to 201.3 Million Years Ago

Period  Early Triassic

 Middle Triassic
 Late Triassic

Apex Predator  Postosuchus

Terrestrial Dinosaurs  Saurosuchus
 Prestosuchus
 Smilosuchus
 Coelophysis

Apex Predator Aquatic  Nothosaurus

Dinosaurs  Tanystropheus
 Ichthyosaurs
 Placodonts

Plant Eating  Plateosaurus

Dinosaurs  Riojasaurus
 Massospondylus
 Lystrosaurus

Plants  Ferns
 Cycads
 Ginkgoes
 Conifers
 Horsetails

Climate Conditions The climate during the Triassic period are varied throughout the period.
and Environment Initially, the climate was generally hot and arid, with large deserts and
scattered oasis-like environments. However, as the period progressed, the
climate became more humid, with increased rainfall and the development
of lush tropical forests in some regions.

Continental Drift Pangaea began to break apart in the mid-Triassic, forming Gondwana
(South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, and Australia) in the south and
Laurasia (North America and Eurasia) in the north.

Extinction Volcanic Event - The formation of Central Atlantic Magmatic Province

(Triassic-Jurassic (CAMP), one of the largest known inland volcanic events since the planet
had first cool and stabilized.
Extinction Period)
Bolide Impact - Which the impact of bright meteor at Manicouagan
Reservoir in Quebec, Canada.

CATEGORIES
Information The Jurassic Period is referred to as "The Golden Age of Dinosaurs" since it
followed the extinction of the Triassic Period. It has the name of the Jura
Mountain in France and Switzerland, the site of the first investigation into
these rocks.

Geologic Time 201.3 to 145.0 Million Years Ago

Period  Early Jurassic

 Middle Jurassic
 Late Jurassic

Apex Predator  Allosaurus

 Ceratosaurus
Terrestrial  Dilophosaurus
 Megalosaurus
Dinosaurs
 Torvosaurus

Apex Predator  Plesiosaurs

 Ichthyosaurs
Aquatic  Liopleurodon
 Metriorhynchids
Dinosaurs
 Dakosaurus

Plant Eating  Brachiosaurus

 Stegosaurus
Dinosaurs  Apatosaurus
 Camarasus
 Drypsaurus

Plants  Mosses
 Ferns
 Ginkgoes
 Conifers
 Horsetails

Climate The Jurassic period was characterized by a warm, wet climate that
gave rise to lush vegetation and abundant life. with tropical-
Conditions and subtropical conditions extending far into the present temperate belts
Environments and temperate conditions occurring in polar regions.

Continental Drift During this period the supercontinent Pangea split apart, allowing for
the eventual development of what are now the central Atlantic Ocean
and the Gulf of Mexico.

Extinction The series of extinction events that killed off many species of
dominant reptiles and quite a few dinosaurs as well (the stegosaur
family, for example).

CATEGORIES
Information The third and longest era of the Mesozoic Era is known as the
Cretaceous Period. During the Cretaceous epoch, it is when the first
flowering plants appeared and swiftly diversified. Large creatures are
well known.

Geologic Time 145 to 66 Million Years Ago

Period  Early Cretaceous

 Middle Cretaceous
 Late Cretaceous

Apex Predator  Tyrannosaurus rex
 Spinosaurus
Terrestrial  Giganotosaurus
 Carcharodontosaurus
Dinosaurs
 Velociraptor

Apex Predator  Mosasaurus

 Plesiosaurs
Aquatic Dinosaurs  Kronosaurus
 Tylosaurus

Plant Eating  Triceratops

 Ankylosaurus
Dinosaurs  Hadrosaurs
 Sauropods

Plants  Ferns
 Horsetails
 Gingko Trees
 Cycads
 Early Angiosperms

Climate Conditions The climate was generally warmer and more humid than today,
probably because of very active volcanism associated with unusually
and Environment high rates of seafloor spreading. The polar regions were free of
continental ice sheets, their land instead covered by forest.

Continental Drift Since the beginning of the Cretaceous epoch, the Atlantic Ocean has
grown considerably. Even so, Gondwana was still whole during the
early Cretaceous. The South Atlantic and Indian Oceans were therefore
newly formed as South America, Antarctica, and Australia rifted away
from Africa (but Madagascar and India remained connected to one
another). Global eustatic sea levels rose as a result of this vigorous
rifting, which elevated massive undersea mountain chains along the
welts. One-third of the planet's current land area was underwater at the
height of the Cretaceous Period.

Extinction
The Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction coincided with two major
(Cretaceous-tertiary global environmental perturbations: heightened volcanism associated
with the Deccan Traps and the Chicxulub asteroid impact.
Mass Extinction)
Chicxulub Asteroids Impact (Yucatán, Mexico)
A nearly nine-mile-wide asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago,

causing a global extinction that wiped out most dinosaurs and 75% of
the planet's plant and animal species. Additionally, it caused a
tremendous "megatsunami" with waves that were almost a mile tall. It
would have resulted in a dust cloud that blocked sunlight, killing most
plant life and lowering the global temperature.

Deccan Traps
It has been theorized that sudden cooling due to sulfurous volcanic
gases released by the formation of the traps and toxic gas emissions
may have contributed significantly to the mass extinction.