Learning about the history of the planet and its prehistoric animals is fascinating. Here we teach you everything you want to know about the Mesozoic Era , one of Earth's historical periods, long before humans existed.
What is the Mesozoic Era?
This period in Earth's history lasted a little over 180 million years. It is also known as the Age of Dinosaurs.
The Mesozoic period dates back to about 250 million years ago. And it came to an end about 60 million years ago, with the disappearance of the Cretaceous period. This widely studied fact is the reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs.
When this Era begins, in the geological history of the earth. All the continents of the Paleozoic period were agglutinated in a single block of land called Pangea.
Product of the movements in the terrestrial crusts, Pangea was dividing rapidly. What produced a very slow displacement, of the portions of that land mass, to the places where the continents are currently located.
Characteristics of the Mesozoic Era
Among the most outstanding characteristics of this geological period, the following can be mentioned:
- The appearance and extinction of the most amazing animals ever seen, the dinosaurs, took place.
- Plants are part of structure of the earth as well as water, which is made up of unimaginable sizes. They served as food for birds and mammals.
- In the waters of the seas, a large number of species grew. Among the most significant, were the giant molluscs.
- There were countless meteor showers, in addition to many volcanic activities. Causing the disappearance of many species, both terrestrial and aquatic.
- The Pangea supercontinent was fractured by seismic activity. Giving rise to the continents that are known today.
Periods of the Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era is divided into three great periods, namely, which are:
Triassic
It is the first period of the Mesozoic and is divided into three subcategories that are:
- Late
- Medium
- Early
It begins in this period, to the fracture of Pangea. There was an increase in volcanic activities. The prevailing climate was quite warm, which allowed the growth and multiplication of coniferous plants, ferns.
The rise in sea and ocean levels was also significant , allowing mollusks and bivalves to reproduce rapidly, as well as fish, lobsters, and other species.
To almost end the Triassic period, a great expansion of the continental shelf had been generated, in the Tethys Sea. Causing the northern and southern ends of Pangea to form.
Triassic dinosaurs
The Archosaurs stand out from this period, a genus of Coelophysis and the Rauisuchians also developed.
The Coelophysis, were animals of great speed. They had very long necks, quite sharp teeth, their hands had a claw, and their tails were very long.
Another of the important groups of dinosaurs were the Archosaurs, they developed and evolved as carnivorous animals. But they underwent a metamorphosis, which became a herbivorous species.
These herbivores were the Thecodonts, which in turn were adapted into two new two species, one of which is the Phytosaurs, which have many similarities to the crocodiles of today.
Jurassic
It is the second period of the Mesozoic Era . This period is characterized by the breakup of Pangaea, which led to the current configuration of the continents.
This detachment of the pieces of the single continent was named after the rise in water level. Like Laurasia to the north and Gondwana, to the south.
It was the golden period, for the multiplication of the dinosaurs. Thanks to the constant rains and the warm climate, the wooded areas and the species that coexisted in the richest ecosystems increased.
The stages of the Jurassic period are the following:
- Lower
- Medium
- Superior
Jurassic Period Dinosaurs
The development of the fauna in this period was very enriching, there was a great development and dominant species were established.
Allosaurus
It was a pretty ferocious dinosaur, with two legs. Its length was approximately eight meters and a height of three meters. Its diet consisted of eating meat, it had large legs with claws.
Brontosaurus
It is considered the largest dinosaur on earth. Their diet was based on plant species. They can be distinguished by having a long neck and fairly robust legs.
These animals, could reach more than 20 meters long, in adulthood and had a height of more than 4 meters. Its weight ranged between 15 and 20 tons.
Apatosaurus
They were dinosaurs that walked on all fours. They had a long neck and tail, which are considered one of the largest dinosaurs found. Some species of these dinosaurs reached a length of more than 25 meters and were herbivores.
Cretaceous
It is the Cretaceous, the geological period that begins after the Jurassic. It also marks the end of the Mesozoic Era . Its main feature is the definitive breakup of Pangaea.
The climate of this period was warm and conducive to rising sea levels. What brought as a positive consequence, the formation of inland seas, with the consequent proliferation of animal and plant species.
In this period, the development of plant species with flowers, trees with woody trunks, and bees that could pollinate the flowers appeared.
Cretaceous dinosaurs
It was a period of great development of new species, product of the need to adapt to their new environments. Some of them are mentioned below.
Triceratops
It was a herbivorous animal, adults could reach more than 9 meters long. His body had a robust appearance and his head was quite large.
The Triceratops species lived more than 60 million years and currently no remains of its skeleton are preserved.
Spinosaurus
They are from the theropod family, these animals lived millions of years in the Lower Cretaceous period. It was a herbivorous species and its size could have been greater than that of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The skull of this animal is similar to that of current crocodiles and they were about 20 meters long.
