AFRICA MAP

Mesozoic Era

Geology

Animals

Bio-Diversity

A land covered in reptiles and vast luxurious plants

• After the extinction of the permian new species evolved and dominated the land. Among these were mammals who dwarved in size compared to their peers the dinosaurs
• Plant-life was dominated by gymnosperms including confers and cycads with flowering plants emerging in the earlier Cretaceous period.

Pangea

• The continents of the world existed as one singular landmass known as Pangea. As the tectonic plates shifted over time, the structure of the world drastically changed.
• River basins notably called "rift basins" developed between the current time continents slowly expanding into the bodies of water that compose the globe's oceans.
• Toward the end of the era, most of the current North American desert was submerged in water and India began to break off of Pangea.

Mass Extinction

• The canon event of this era was a mass extinction that erased most biological lofe from existence. Paleontologists deduced that this was caused by a massive meter that blocked out the sun for several months causing plant and sentient life to die off. Luckily, mammals were some of the survivors and took the opportunity to dominate the Earth.

Dinosaurs and reptiles

The Mesozoic era was blossoming in prehistoric life that ranged from land, air, and sea. Terrestrial species were known as Dinosaurs which spanned across many ecological niches.

Aerial species however, were not Dinosaurs. Instead they were refrered to as Pterosaurs or simply flying reptiles. Paleontologists deduce that they kept near water and fed off of fish.

Aquatic reptiles are also not classified as Dinosaurs and preyed on smaller species and likely birthed live young.

The Mesozoic Era (251-65)

• Lasted over 186 millions years
• Consists of 3 periods
• Triassic (251-199)
• Jurassic (199-145)
• Cretaceous (145-65)
• Named the "Age of Reptiles" for the primary sentient organisms consisted of dinosaurs, crocodilians, and pterosaurs.