DaAnonymousOne's+Jurassic+Time+Period

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A JURASSIC TIMELINE Before the Jurassic came the Triassic, nicknamed “The Reptile Period”, when life was beginning anew after the Permian extinction. Dinosaurs were appearing and mammals as well. Pangaea was forming, slowly moving north and was centered across the equator. The climate was hot and dry because of the lack of polar ice caps.

Then came the [|Jurassic], or “the Age of the Dinosaurs”, because of the dominant species: dinosaurs. The first birds were appearing and mammals were evolving after first appearing in the Triassic. Pangaea had started breaking up and was spread out across the eastern and western hemispheres. The climate was wet and sticky, perfect for the dominant non-flowering plant, the conifer tree.

After the Jurassic came the [|Cretaceous], when dinosaurs continued to dominate. Creodonts, a cross between a dinosaur and a mammal, had appeared and flowering plants had as well. The continents moved apart and were separated by ocean. The climate was hot due to the volcanic activity. In the Late Cretaceous, there was a mass extinction. Scientists still aren’t sure what caused it, but one theory is that a meteor caused it. Dinosaurs, pterosaurus’, sea ammonites, and marine reptiles all went extinct.

PLATE TECTONICS  Massachusetts wasn’t always where it is now. Back in the Jurassic, Massachusetts was still in New England, but America was different in both shape and size. Pangaea was slowly breaking up and it had spread across the eastern and western hemispheres. Most of the land was centered in the middle, but was creeping north slowly. The climate was warm and wet in North America, Eurasia, and India. In Africa, South America, and southern North America, the climate was seasonally wet with desert conditions.

FOSSILS Scientists use a high-tech way of figuring out how old rocks are called carbon dating. Carbon dating reads the level of radioactivity coming off from the rock or fossil. The older the fossil, the fewer radioactivity it gives off. One fossil scientists have found was that of a theropod, //Allosaurus fragilis,// a fierce hunter. It’s brothers and sisters have been found across North America, Portugal, and maybe Tanzania. Archaeologists have also found a fossil of //Caturus furcatus//, a Jurassic fish. It was found in Solnhaffen Lagerståtte, Germany. One of the most famous fossils however is one of the first birds, Archaeopteryx, found in China.

LIFE ON A DIFFERENT EARTH

There were many new life forms in the Jurassic. The first birds, such as archaeopteryx, were appearing. Dinosaurs, like carnivorous theropods, ruled the world and fisted like kings on herbivores the size of 5 trucks, such as Dicraeosaurus and Brontosaurus. There weren’t any dominant uni-cellular organisms, but bacteria still remained. Believe it or not, our ancestors, Jurassic mammals, were as small as rats and very weak, unlike today. The most common plant was a conifer, a type of tree. They had stayed around for over 150 years. They had remained so long because instead of releasing seeds, the trees would trick animals into spreading the seeds. We still have dinosaurs today, such as birds and gingko trees.

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FUN FACT! The Jurassic Coast (below) contains cliffs from Jurassic. Triassic, and Cretaceous time periods. Mesozoic cliffs all in one spot!

I learned a lot about the Jurassic Period while researching this project. I had always thought that during the Jurassic, there were T-Rex rampaging across the countryside. Did you know that even though T-rex were in the movie Jurassic Park, they didn't appear until Mid-Cretaceous? I liked learning aout the different time periods. I mostly learned about the Mesozoic Era: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, but after the presentations I will have learned about all the time periods from Precambrian to Quaternary. I think the most difficult thing in this project for me was finding true information. Most of the books I had found were all about Jurassic Park, a movie that didn't have ALL it's facts too straight.