The Jurassic Period
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The Jurassic Period Presentation by Isabella Siler and Robin Schneider Dilophosaurus. You’ll learn about them later. The Jurassic period: what does it mean? The word Jurassic means of or to the Jurassic period, which occurred between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods in the Mesozoic era, which means “The Age of Reptiles”. How long did it last? This period lasted from 199.6 to 145.5 million years ago and ended with a mass extinction and the beginning of Cretaceous period. It started with a major extinction event as well, with most invertebrates going extinct. The Jurassic period was a part of the Mid-Mesozoic era. Earth’s Climate During this time The Earth’s climate during the Jurassic period was quite warm, with tropical climates and temperate ones. Scientists have found that there weren’t many glaciers during this time and many lush forests, indicating that it was warmer during this period. The atmosphere during this time Science shows the atmosphere was humid, cloudy, and had much more carbon dioxide in the air than the current atmosphere. Earth’s continents during the Jurassic Period This was right after pangea broke up, so there were only 2 supercontinents: Laurasia and Gondwana. Laurasia was in the north while Gondwana was in the south. Laurasia is now North America, Europe and Asia; Gondwana is currently South America, India, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. Dinosaurs of the Jurassic - On The Ground Although the term Jurassic may conjure up images of dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus, or triceratops. However, none of those dinosaurs lived during this time. The Jurassic period was the golden age for sauropods, large, long-necked quadruped dinosaurs. The most famous being Brachiosaurus, the ancestor to the largest dinosaur known to have walked the planet, Argentinosaurus, a 100 ton sauropod. Certain sauropods, like Mamenchisaurus (below), had necks more than half their entire body length, making scientists question even today how they held their heads up. Doc Veggie Boi Long Boi Tall Boi BUT WAIT - There’s more. He give the big chomp. Predators like allosaurus, a slightly smaller cousin of the tyrannosaurus was believed to eegfiufbiwbfiiubibiubib have hunted in packs to take down the large prey during this time. Some scientists think oiohohohihoihohoihohh they had the ability to unhinge their jaw like a snake. Because we love nightmares. I told you they’d be back! Dilophosaurus was another predator during this time. Unlike most creatures from the 1993 movie Jurassic Park, Dilophosaurus was actually larger than depicted. Remember the frilly, venom spitting boy? Yeah. They were bigger. Dilophosaurus Are you feeling it now, Mr. based on Krabs? actual fossils---> Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park (1993) He has a cough. To Birb or not to Birb... Dinosaurs of the Jurassic - In The Sky Dinosaurs and not-so-dinosaurs ruled the skies during the Archaeopteryx Jurassic period. Dinosaurs like Dimorphodon, a small winged creature with a huge t-rex shaped head(seriously, this thing was a mutant) played a dominant role. The Jurassic was also the period where the first birds came into known existence. Archaeopteryx, a small feathered creature, is still argued over today as to weather it was a bird or reptile, but it may have been the ancestor to the giraffe sized Quetzalcoatl. <---- Quetzalcoatlus Giraffe -----> Dimorphodon screeeeeech Middle Aged Man -------------> Dinosaurs of the Jurassic - In The Water Long necks were not limited to the land in the Jurassic, top predators like Plesiosaurus preyed on schools of fish in the shallow oceans. Larger creatures like Liopleurodon (left) fed on Plesiosaurs and other dinosaurs alike, such as the Ichythodon (right), a large dolphin-like creature. Larger animals like the Leedsichthys, ancestor to the common-day whale, uyguugyuguygguyguguygugug roamed the oceans beside irugeugoegoiegoehgooeooeuiii them. waters. No, he’s not eating that. Same species, just further away. I promise. ------> Plant life alive during this time Many plants started dominating early earth during the Jurassic period. There were many gymnosperms, cycads, glossopteris, and cycadeoids. The Jurassic period is also known as the “Age of Cycads”. Major Events Pangea kept breaking up during this time and more oceans and mountains formed. Many new sea animals came into existence, and new vegetation flourished. Many new, larger dinos came to be as well and thrived in this habitat. Herbivores were more abundant and one of the first early birds emerged, called the Archaeopteryx. Sources https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/mesozoic/jurassic/ https://www.livescience.com/28739-jurassic-period.html https://sciencing.com/climate-jurassic-era-4932.html https://socratic.org/questions/what-was-the-atmosphere-during-the-jurassic-period http://science.answers.com/Q/What_did_the_earth's_surface_look_like_in_the_jur assic_time_period https://www.reference.com/history/major-events-happened-during-jurassic-period- c7e574a5727b0ce4.