GROUP 4

Mesozoic Era
( Age of the Dinosaurs )
During the Mesozoic, or “Middle Life” Era life
diversified rapidly and giant reptiles, dinosaurs and
other monstrous beast roamed the Earth. Scientists
have found footprints, eggs, bones, and other fossils
of reptiles which existed during Mesozoic Era. The
largest creatures that existed during this era were the
dinosaurs. This period, which spans from about 252
million years ago to about 66 million years ago, was
also known as the age of reptiles or the age of
dinosaurs.
MESOZOIC ERA
• Second of Earth’s three major geologic eras of Phanerozoic time.

• Derived from the Greek term for “middle life”.

• It began 252.2 million years ago.

• The Triassic Period, Jurassic Period, and Cretaceous Period.

MESOZOIC ERA
• BOUNDARIES

• Permian-Triassic boundary (Start of the boundary)

• Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (End of the boundary).

• John Philips is the one who created the global geologic timescale

• Paul Olsen is the geoscientist

MESOZOIC ERA IS SUBDIVIDED INTO 3
PERIODS

• TRIASSIC PERIOD
• JURASSIC PERIOD
• CRETACEOUS PERIOD
TRIASSIC PERIOD

• Triassic Period was the first period of the MESOZOIC ERA and occurred between 251 million and 199 million
years ago. It followed the great mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period and was a time when life
outside of the oceans began to diversify.
• It is a geologic period and a system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.9
million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Jurassic period 201.3 Mya.
• It is divided into 3 epochs.
EARLY TRIASSIC PERIOD
• The first three epochs of the Triassic period
• Rocks from the this epoch are collectively known as the lower Triassic, which is unit in
chronostratigraphy.
• The early Triassic is divided into two the induan and olenekian ages
• At the beginning of the Trassic, most of the continents were concentrated in the giant C-shaped
supercontinent known for as Pangaea. Climate was generally very dry over much of Pangaea with
very hot Summers and cold winters in the continental interior. A highly seasonal monsoon climate
prevailed nearer to the coastal region.
MIDDLE TRIASSIC PERIOD

• It spans the time between 247.2 Ma and 237 Ma (milliion years ago).

• Formerly the middle series in the Triassic was also known as Muschelkalk.

• The Middle Triassic is divided into the Anisian and Landinian ages or stages.
LATE TRIASSIC PEROID

• The late Triassic Period is the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic Peroid in the
geologic time scale. The Triassic-Jurassic extinction event began during this epoch and is one
of the five major mass extinction events of the Earth.
• The Late Triassic spans the time between 237 Ma and 201.3 Ma (million years ago)
 EARLY DINOSAUR

EORAPTOR
PISANOSAURUS

LESOTHOSAURUS
PLANTS

GINKGO TREE
MOSSES
JURASSIC PERIOD
• The Jurassic Period began as a large extinction took place at the end of the
Trassic Period.
• Approximately 208-200 Ma, and later extended to 144 million years ago,
roughly 64 Ma to 56 Ma total.
• By the beginning of Jurassic, supercontinent Pangaea had begun rifting into
two landmasses: Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the South. This created
more coastlines and shifted the continental climate from dry to humid, and many
of the arid deserts of the Triassic were replaced by lush rainforest.
EARLY JURASSIC PERIOD
• Hettangian ( 200 Ma – 197 Ma )

• Sinemurian ( 197 Ma – 190 Ma )

• Pliensbachian ( 190 Ma – 183 Ma )

• Toarcian ( 183 Ma – 176 Ma )

MIDDLE JURASSIC PERIOD
• Aalenian ( 176 Ma – 172 Ma )

• Bajocian ( 172 Ma – 168 Ma )

• Bathonian ( 168 Ma – 161 Ma )

• Callovian ( 165 Ma – 161 Ma )

LATE JURASSIC PERIOD
• Oxfordian ( 161 Ma – 156 Ma )

• Kimmeridgian ( 156 Ma – 151 Ma )

• Tithonian ( 151 Ma – 146 Ma )

 JURASSIC DINOSAURS

TRICERATOPS
DIPLODOCUS
 BIRDS

PTEROSAURS
JURASSIC MARINE DINOSAURS

ICHTHYOSAURUS
CRETACEOUS PERIOD

The Cretaceous Period was the last and longest segment of the
Mesozoic Era. It lasted approximately 79 million years, from the
minor extinction event that closed the Jurassic Period about 145.5
million years ago to the Cretaceous Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction
event dated at 65.5 million years ago.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD

• It is a geologic period and system that spans from the end of the Jurassic
Period 145 million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Paleogene Period 66
Mya.

• It is the last period of Mesozoic Era, and the longest period of the Phanerozoic
Eon.

• The Cretaceous Period is usually abbreviated K, for it’s German translation

kreide (chalk, creta in Latin).
CRETACEOUS PERIOD: Animals, Plants & Extinction Event
CRETACEOUS PERIOD PLANTS

One of the hallmarks of the CRETACEOUS period was the development and radiation of the flowering
plants. The oldest angiosperm fossil that has been found to date is Archaefructus liaoningensis, found by
Ge Sun and David Dilcher in China. It seems to have been most similar to the modern black pepper plant is
thought to be at least 122 million years old.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD

• Asteriod hits the earth during

Cretaceous period.
• It causes a mass extincton
• All dinosaurs went exticnt.
MESOZOIC ERA
EXTINCTION
• THe MESOZOIC ERA was bookended by two great
extinctions, with another smaller extinction.

• 252 million years ago.

• 201 million years ago.

• “Nature is very efficient at getting rid of it’s corpses”.

Olsen said.
CRETACOUS PERIOD

SURVIVED
• BIRDS
• FISH
• REPTILES
• SOME MAMMALS
MESOZOIC ERA TIMELINE