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Mesozoic Era (Age of the Dinosaurs)

Mesozoic Era (Age of the Dinosaurs). 225,000,000 years ago to 65,000,000 years ago Warm Climate Three Periods Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous. Triassic Period (225-180 MYA). Pangaea (supercontinent) formed. Triassic Period (225-180 MYA). First Dinosaurs (small in size).

adrienne-roderick
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Mesozoic Era (Age of the Dinosaurs)

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  1. Mesozoic Era(Age of the Dinosaurs) 225,000,000 years ago to 65,000,000 years ago Warm Climate Three Periods Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous

  2. Triassic Period(225-180 MYA) Pangaea (supercontinent) formed

  3. Triassic Period(225-180 MYA) First Dinosaurs (small in size)

  4. Triassic Period(225-180 MYA) Conifers and Cycad Forests Dominate (Gymnosperms)

  5. Jurassic Period(180-135 MYA) Pangaea starts to separate

  6. Jurassic Period(180-135 MYA) Dinosaurs Dominate: Allosaurus, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Stegasaurus.

  7. Jurassic Period(180-135 MYA) Reptiles in the sea - Icthyosaurs – 8 m; Plesiosaurs – 15 m.

  8. Jurassic Period(180-135 MYA) 1st mammals (small rodents).

  9. Jurassic Period(180-135 MYA) 1st birds (Archaeopteryx).

  10. Cretaceous Period(135-65 MYA) Continents in modern positions

  11. Cretaceous Period(135-65 MYA) Dinosaurs still dominate: T. rex (carnivore); Triceratops (horned); Trachadon (duck-billed)

  12. Cretaceous Period(135-65 MYA) Angiosperms (flowering plants with fruit) evolve & dominate

  13. Cretaceous Period(135-65 MYA) Mass Extinction: 50% of all plant and animal groups die Alvarez’s Meteor Impact Theory- iridium layer (common in meteors), dust blocked out the sun.

  14. Cenozoic Era(Age of the Mammals) 65,000,000 years ago to Present Day Two Periods Tertiary Quaternary

  15. Tertiary Period(65 MYA to 1.8 MYA) • Warm and humid climate • Mammals dominate: increasing in size • Angiosperms (flowering plants) dominate • Grasses develop, grazing animals become even larger • Earliest prehistoric humans (approximately 3.5 MYA).

  16. Animals of the Tertiary Organisms that have been found in the La Brea tar pits of Los Angeles Megatherium, a giant ground sloth (20 ft long).

  17. Animals of the Tertiary Indricotherium, measured up to 13 ft at the shoulder. Diatryma, a giant predatory bird.

  18. The Great Ice Age

  19. Quaternary Period(1.8 MYA to Present) • The “Great Ice Age”, ice sheets covered 30% of all land • Land & ice bridges connected many continents allowing animal migration • North American elephants (mastodons, mammoths), giant sloths & armadillos, and saber-toothed cats go extinct. • Modern humans evolve, maybe causing the above extinctions from hunting.

  20. A Sixth Mass Extinction? • Are we the cause of a sixth mass extinction that is currently taking place? • Round Table Discussion

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