Jurassic

__//**The**// //**Jurassic Time Period**//__ __//**By ZIgZigler**//__ __//**Introduction**//__  Have you ever heard of the movie "Jurassic Park"? Well that comes from the [|Jurassic time period]. Before the Jurassic, was the [|Triassic], (Age of the Reptiles, first mammals, crocodiles, and big trees). The Jurassic is a pretty big jump forward into "The Age of the Fossils" and land of the Dinosaurs. After the Jurassic, comes the [|Cretaceous], with the first flowering plants, snakes and huge dinosaurs still dominate. All three periods, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous are all part of the Mesozoic era. At the end of the Cretaceous, there is a mass extinction that leaves all the dinosaurs to die.

//**__Abiotic __**//  When most people think of the [|Jurassic Period], they think of the dinosaurs, but that's just the biotic. The abiotic is everything that is not living, like the climate. During the Jurassic, the climate is hot and moist but with a lot of vegetation. The Earth at this point is separating (Pangea, super-continent) into two giant continents with the Tethys river dividing them. [|Laurasia] was the northern part that consisted of [|North America], Asia, Northern Europe, Greenland and Siberia. While [|Gondwana], the southern half, consisted of Africa, Antarctica, South America, India, Madagascar and Australia. [|Massachusetts] was part of Laurasia, since North America is in the Northern hemisphere, and at this point, near the Equator. At this point in time North America as well as most of the shallow waters traveled North West. South America was having the final split with Africa.

//**__Rocks And Landforms __**//  In the Jurassic lots of [|fossils] were found, proving the existence of dinosaurs and other creatures. In the 1990's scientists found fossils in China with the skull and teeth of a dinosaur, but with wings and feathers like a bird. Primitive volcanoes started to form, making some the first [|igneous rocks], found today in the [|ring of fire]. Two dinosaurs, the Majungasorus, and the Masiakosaurus knofleri were found in the Red Soils Islands (off the coast of Madagascar). Scientists also found relatives of these on the other side of the world, proving the exsistance of Pangea. The [|scipionyx,] found in both Italy and Africa, is more evidential proof of the connection of all of the continents. From all this, we can learn that the geographical factor is an important one, to any environment, and that it has a huge impact on the biotic, as well as the abiotic.

**//__Biotic __//**  The Jurassic period if often called [|"The Age Of The Fossils"] because of all of the dinosaurs found. The dinosaurs ruled the earth, and many new plants and flowers appeared. Although the Jurassic was not the first period to have dinosaurs, they did have a great advance in large ones. These include the [|Brachiosaurus] (herbavor at 55 tons and 75 feet tall), the [|Argentinasaurus] (carnivore at 46 tons and 61 feet tall), and the [|Gigantasaurus] (carnivore at 47 tons and 58 feet high). The smallest dinosaur, on the other hand is the [|Compsognathus] (up to 50 centimeters when fully grown) not much bigger than your thumb. The first birds also appeared, including the Archeourus, with a wing span of up to 20 feet! A water predator, Sarcoschers Impredador (super croc) was a relative to today's crocodiles and was as long as a school bus, and as heavy as a small whale. Super croc waited in the water until a dinosaur (big or small) came to drink, then it would jump out at it and kill it. The Jurassic period had lots of new life such as the dinosaurs, plants, trees, birds, and much more. CLICK HERE FOR MY BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS WIKI CLICK HERE FOR MY REFLECTION