The Mesozoic Era - UCMP Berkeley
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Mesozoic means "middle animals," and is the time during which the world fauna changed drastically from that which had been seen in the Paleozoic. Dinosaurs, ... Onlineexhibits:Geologictimescale TheMesozoicEra TheMesozoicEraisdividedintothreetimeperiods:theTriassic(251-199.6millionyearsago),theJurassic(199.6-145.5millionyearsago),andtheCretaceous(145.5-65.5millionyearsago).* Thedarkbandinthisphoto(indicatedbythearrow)oftheHellCreekFormationinMontanaisknownasthez-coal,acoallayerthatmarkstheapproximateboundarybetweenCretaceous(below)andTertiary(above)agerocks. Mesozoicmeans"middleanimals,"andisthetimeduringwhichtheworldfaunachangeddrasticallyfromthatwhichhadbeenseeninthePaleozoic.Dinosaurs,whichareperhapsthemostpopularorganismsoftheMesozoic,evolvedintheTriassic,butwerenotverydiverseuntiltheJurassic.Exceptforbirds,dinosaursbecameextinctattheendoftheCretaceous.SomeofthelastdinosaurstohavelivedarefoundinthelateCretaceousdepositsofMontanaintheUnitedStates. TheMesozoicwasalsoatimeofgreatchangeintheterrestrialvegetation.TheearlyMesozoicwasdominatedbyferns,cycads,ginkgophytes,bennettitaleans,andotherunusualplants.Moderngymnosperms,suchasconifers,firstappearedintheircurrentrecognizableformsintheearlyTriassic.BythemiddleoftheCretaceous,theearliestangiospermshadappearedandbegantodiversify,largelytakingoverfromtheotherplantgroups. Mesozoicfossillocalities BlueNileGorge,Ethiopia:Comealongonafossil-huntingtriptoEthiopiawithUCMPresearchersandseethefirstdinosaurfossilsfoundthere. ClaytonLake,NewMexico:ThisCretaceoussitehassomeofthemostextensiveandbestpreserveddinosaurtrackwaysintheUnitedStates. Ischigualasto,Argentina:Thebest-knownandbest-preservedearlydinosaurscomefromthisTriassiclocalityinSouthAmerica. Pt.LomaFormation,California:ThisCretaceouslocalityhasyieldedimportantfossilsforunderstandingwesternNorthAmericandinosaurs. KarooBasin,SouthAfrica SolnhofenLimestone,Germany:ExquisitelydetailedfossilshavecomefromtheseJurassicdepositsinsouthernGermany. Resources SeeUCMP'sDinobuzzandexploresomeofthefrequentlyaskedquestionsaboutthebiologyofdinosaurs.Weretheywarm-blooded?Whydidtheygoextinct?Aredinosaursrelatedtobirdsoraretheyreptiles? FindoutmoreabouttheMesozoicpaleontologyandgeologyofNorthAmericaatthePaleontologyPortal'spagesontheTriassic,Jurassic,andCretaceousPeriods. SeetheWikipediapageontheMesozoic. *DatesfromtheInternationalCommissiononStratigraphy'sInternationalStratigraphicChart,2008. DavidPollycreatedtheoriginalpage12/6/1993;AllenCollinsmadeadditionsandbroketheoriginalpageintomultiplepages11/26-28/1994;SarahRieboldtupdatedthepagestoreflecttheGeologicalSocietyofAmerica(GSA)1999GeologicTimescale,11/2002;DaveSmithrecombinedthecontentintoasinglepageandadaptedittothenewsiteformat,6/15/2011;HellCreekFormationphotobyDaveSmith,UCMP
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