Era Report

Era Report

      The era I am researching is the Mesozoic Era which was the era following the Paleozoic Era is followed by the Cenozoic era. This era is separated into 3 periods, the Triassic Period, the Jurassic Period, and the Cretaceous Period. The continents during this era were in Pangaea and by the mid-Triassic, Pangaea had begun to break apart. By the time the Jurassic period came along, the pieces of Pangaea were still floating along the earth's surface, there was the breaking up of the small parts of Pangaea such as the breaking up of the northern, southern, and the western pieces of Pangaea. By the time the Cretaceous period came along, the pieces of Pangaea were breaking up into small continents by the mid-cretaceous. Our position today was just on the far left end of Pangaea which slowly shifted over the Mesozoic Era. 

       One type of plant life that thrived through the Triassic period included the Horsetail, this plant has underground stems (which a dinosaur wouldn't eat), which lets dinosaurs eat the plant without killing the actual plant. This allowed the Horsetail to regrow and thrive during the Triassic period. Another type of plant during the Jurassic period was the Cycad. This plant had a unique ability to grow in all sorts of habitats for a considerable amount of time. Finally, a plant from the Cretaceous period was the Williamsonia sewardiana which was like a tree with a woody stem and simple leaves with it. This plant had survived from the Jurassic and all the way to the late Cretaceous.

       There was plenty of animal life during the Mesozoic period including the Therapsids which had survived the Permian Extinction from the era before. By the early Triassic, it appeared to show that the Therapsids would dominate the Mesozoic era. But by the mid-Triassic, most Therapsids had become extinct and new animals would dominate the era. One type of animal from the Jurassic period would be the Archaeopteryx which was known to be the earliest type of bird in history. It could fly but it wasn't a very strong flier. And finally, one animal from the Cretaceous period is the T-rex. This was a famous carnivore that dominated the late-Cretaceous and was capable of eating up to 500 pounds of meat in one bite.

        The climate during the Triassic period was influenced by Pangaea. Because of this climate during the Triassic period was hot and dry in the middle of Pangaea since they were cut off from the cool ocean air at the edges of Pangaea. And if you were on the edge of Pangaea then you probably experienced cooler, seasonal weather. Weather during the Jurassic can be found through the use of rocks which can give hints on the weather during that time period. Some of these rocks include evaporites and coals. The evaporites show evidence that warmth and low levels of moisture. The coals give clues that there were swampy conditions in the humid areas. These two rocks indicate that the Jurassic period was most likely warm, low in moisture and there were some swampy conditions with it. The Cretaceous period had weather that was influenced by Pangaea. Because Pangaea was breaking up during the Cretaceous period, the climate in all the parts of Pangaea was much cooler than it was during the Triassic and the Jurassic. Seasons began to become more pronounced as the global climate got cooler due to Pangaea breaking up.

       The Mesozoic era was the era known for the types of species it held such as dinosaurs and the first birds on earth. The breaking up of Pangaea in this era was critical to our world so it could look like how it is today. Because Pangaea broke up, this provided more cool air to the species and animals in the middle of Pangaea. The plant life in this era was unique because they could survive different environments, one that can live on even when an animal eats it and one that can survive for quite a while in all sorts of climates and habitats. In conclusion, the Mesozoic era was a unique time of evolution and events for animals and plants that allowed them to have their own unique abilities surviveive and thrive.