The Mesozoic Era

the Mesozoic era

(spans from 252 Ma - 66 Ma)

The Mesozoic (meso meaning middle) is known best for being the era where dinosaurs roamed. During this time, Pangaea also began to separate.

What was the world like?

At this time, there were hardly differences in climate across the Earth. Temperatures were warmer and climate was broadly tropical. Before the Mesozoic era, land plants had to be near moist areas by lakes, rivers, etc. With the change to more subtropical and tropic climates, carbonniferous forests became widespread and prevalent. Ferns and other spore plants thrived and grew to previously unimaginable sizes. Apart from dinosaurs, there were also marine reptiles, ammonites, and early mammals.

Major Events

Interesting Facts

• Due to the splitting of Pangaea, biodiversity was being seen in a way like never before, especially with the newfound various ecological niches.
• The Mesozoic era is also associated with mass extinction events. The permian extinction (250 ma) is the largest mass extinction to date, killing roughly 36 of 45 families of animals. The triassic extinction occurred 210 ma and wiped out 50% of organisms but allowed for dinosaurs to flourish.

The Age of Dinosaurs

The first mammals

Mass extinction theories

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Flowering Plants

+ References

Mass Extinction

The Cretaceous extinction marked the definite end of the Mesozoic era, happening 65 Ma. It is not certain what caused the extinction that caused the extinction of all dinosaurs except avian birds. There are two different theories, cataclysmic theories refer to to the belief that the extinction was caused by a major asteroid collision. Oppositely, gradualist theories indicate that environmental changes were responsible, like the creation of mountains which led to increased volcanic activity.

Flowering plants

Apart from gymnosperm plants flourishing, another interesting development was the introduction of angiosperms, or flowering plants, during the late Cretaceous period. This further increased plant diversity but also interestingly served as a new food source for the existing organisms on the planet

References

Gee, C. T. (2010). Plants in Mesozoic Time Morphological Innovations, Phylogeny, Ecosystems. Indiana University Press. Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (2005). Ecology and behaviour of Mesozoic reptiles. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/b137828

The Age of Dinosaurs

Although it feels distant and long ago, the dinosaurs roamed the Earth for a total of 185 million years, compared to the mere 300,000 years that Homo sapiens have been around thus far.

The first mammals

The first mammals appeared in the beginning of the Mesozoic era. Unlike the diverse mammals seen today, they were simple, small animals. They are thought to be nocturnal which would explain how they were able to coexist with such large predators like the dinosaurs of this era.