The Mesozoic Era

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The Mesozoic Era

• By Alex Reyer

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248-65 Million Years Ago

• Mesozoic means middle animals and is referred
  to as the Age of the Dinosaurs
• There are 3 major subdivisions of the Mesozoic
  Era Triassic (245-208 Million Years Ago), the
  Jurassic (208-146 Million Years Ago), and the
  Cretaceous (146-65 Million Years Ago)

http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mesozoic/mesozoic.htm
l
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Triassic Period

• One supercontinent PANGAEA

• Animals The first small, fast dinosaurs, the
  first mammals and marine reptiles like the
  trilobite appeared in this period. Frogs,
  turtles, lizards and snakes also first appeared
  here.

• Plants Ferns and conifers dominated the land,
  with some evergreens and palm-tree like plants
• Climate Hot and Dry

http//www.dinotreker.com/Late_Triassic_Globe.jpg
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End of the Triassic

• The end of the Triassic period was marked by a
  mass extinction where 35 of all animals died
  out. This was brought on by massive volcanic
  eruptions between 208- 213 million years ago.
• At this time, Pangaea began to break apart
• The extinction allowed for dinosaurs to flourish
  and rule for the next 150 million years

http//www.sciencedaily.com/images/2007/07/0707191
43512.jpg
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Jurassic Period

• Animals More diverse mammals, sea life was
  abundant (coral, fish, sharks, squid and rays),
  and dinosaurs dominated. First birds appeared

• As Pangaea began to break apart it separated into
  Laurasia and Gondwana by the end of the Jurassic

• Plants Remained the same from the Triassic
• Climate Hot and dry, with strong seasonality at
  first, changing to warm and moist with no polar
  ice and vast flooded areas.

http//anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/images/map
_of_earth_at_125_million.gif
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Cretaceous Period

• The supercontinent was well on its way to
  breaking up and formed the continents we know
  today about 130 million years ago

• Animals DINOSAURS!!! The first placental mammals
  appeared as did more species of birds

• Plants The first flowering plants began in the
  Cretaceous
• Climate No polar ice-caps, more seasonality,
  sea-levels rose, greater extremes between
  equatorial and polar temperatures.

http//www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaur
s/mesozoic/cretaceous/
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Large Dinosaurs in the Jurassic
http//www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link/earth/geolo
gy/images/mesozoic_jpg_image.html
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Dinosaur Facts

• Dinosaurs are most recognizable by their size,
  teeth, claws and scary features!
• They evolved from reptilian ancestors 230 million
  years ago, after the Permian-Triassic extinction
  where more than 95 of all life on earth went
  extinct
• They varied greatly in size from 2 feet long and
  6 lbs, to 100 feet long (and/or tall) weighing
  100 tons

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http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur
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End of the Cretaceous What Killed the Dinosaurs?
http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/extinction/dinos
aurs/ed_pop.html

• The Cretaceous Period ended with a mass
  extinction about 65 million years ago, wiping out
  the dinosaurs and most animals (except birds).
  Theories about the cause of the extinction
  include asteroid impact, high- volcanic activity,
  climate changes, or disease.
• The Age of the Dinosaurs was over and the Age of
  the Mammals began

http//www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/wpr0075l.jpg
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Educational (and fun!) websites!

• http//www.kidsdinos.com/dinosaur-games/index.php
• www.kidsdinos.com
• http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/extinction.h
  tml
• http//www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaur
  s/