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The Jurassic Period: (208 million years ago)

 

At the start of the early Jurassic period, the giant continent Pangaea broke up, forming the beginning of the world that we now know. There were huge volcanoes with rivers of lava and clouds of poison gases. Land that had been part of the interior of the huge continent was now coastline of smaller continents, and the climate began to change accordingly.

 

Forests of ferns, ginkgo trees, cycads and conifers grew. All these plants can still be seen today. Scuttling about at the bottom of these plants were the early mammals, all of them rat-sized. The dominant land animals were the huge dinosaurs, the largest land animals ever. They were the gigantic herbivore (plant-eaters) sauropods such as Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. Other herbivores included Stegosaursaurus. Carnivorous (meat-eating) dinosaurs included Allosaurus and Dilophosaurus. The dinosaurs of the Jurassic were much more different from each other than in other periods: there was a greater variety. Because of the different climate, the forests grew, and the herbivores became huge in order to feed on the tall trees. The carnivores then had to become larger and more fierce to deal with such huge prey.

 

The first birds appeared, such as Archaeopteryx. The seas were full of marine reptiles such as the plesiosaurs, crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, sharks and rays. Below are some Dinosaurs of the Jurrasic period.

Click on each image for a description of the Animal.

 

Stegosaurus	Allosaurus	Brachiosaurus	Diplodocus

During the Jurassic period about four or five of the twelve clades of planktonic organisms that exist in the fossil record either experienced a massive evolutionary radiation or appeared for the first time.

 

The arid, continental conditions characteristic of the Triassic steadily eased during the Jurassic period, especially at higher latitudes; the warm, humid climate allowed lush jungles to cover much of the landscape.

 

The Conifers in particular dominated the flora, as during the Triassic; they were the most diverse group and constituted the majority of large trees.

The End of the Jurrassic Period

By the end of the Jurassic Period, North America and South America became separated by a confluence of the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Extensive flooding submerged much of what are now the eastern and middle portions of the United States.

 

By the end of the Jurassic Period, water separated South America from Africa, and the Australian and Antarctic continents were clearly articulated. The Antarctic continent began a slow southward migration toward the south polar region.

 

 

Map of the Earth during the Jurassic Period

 

Paleozoic Era

Mesozoic Era