The Triassic Period was
a time of great change
. Bookended by extinctions, this era saw huge shifts in the diversity and dominance of life on Earth, ushering in the appearance of many well-known groups of animals that would go on to rule the planet for tens of millions of years.
What are 3 fun facts about the Triassic period?
- The Triassic Period is the first of the three geologic periods of the Mesozoic Era.
- The Triassic Period was the shortest period of the Mesozoic Era.
- The Triassic Period lasted roughly 50.6 million years.
- The Triassic Period occurred between 251.902 and 201.3 million years ago.
What was life like during the Triassic period?
At the beginning of the Triassic, most of the continents were concentrated in the giant C-shaped supercontinent known as Pangaea. Climate was generally very dry over much of Pangaea with
very hot summers and cold winters
in the continental interior.
What major biological events happened in the Triassic period?
The start of the Triassic period (and the Mesozoic era) was a desolate time in Earth's history. Something—a
bout of violent volcanic eruptions, climate change, or perhaps a fatal run-in with a comet or asteroid
—had triggered the extinction of more than 90 percent of Earth's species.
What fossils were found in the Triassic period?
Trilobites, bryozoans, and rugose (horn) corals
all disappeared. But many new species developed. The ammonites and brachiopods survived and began to recover. One type of ammonite was especially plentiful during the Triassic Period.
Why is it called Triassic period?
The first period of the Mesozoic Era is the Triassic Period, which lasted from 245 to 202 million years ago. The name Triassic comes from Germany where it was
originally named the Trias in 1834 by Friedrich August Von Alberti (1795-1878) because it is represented by a three-part division of rock types in Germany.
During which 3 periods did Dinosaurs exist?
The ‘Age of Dinosaurs' (the Mesozoic Era) included three consecutive geologic time periods (
the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods
).
Which animals began appearing in the Triassic period?
Modern groups whose ancestral forms appeared for the first time in the Middle and Late Triassic
What was the first dinosaur?
For the past twenty years,
Eoraptor
has represented the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs. This controversial little creature–found in the roughly 231-million-year-old rock of Argentina–has often been cited as the earliest known dinosaur.
What era is the Triassic Period in?
Triassic Period, in geologic time,
the first period of the Mesozoic Era
. It began 252 million years ago, at the close of the Permian Period, and ended 201 million years ago, when it was succeeded by the Jurassic Period.
Which Period is older than the Triassic Period?
From oldest to youngest: Triassic (251.902 to 201.3 million years ago) Jurassic (201.3 to 145 million years ago)
Cretaceous
(145 to 66 million years ago)
How many years did the Triassic Period last?
Triassic Period—
251.9 to 201.3 MYA
.
Why did the Triassic period End?
Huge and widespread volcanic eruptions
triggered the end-Triassic extinction. Some 200 million years ago, an increase in atmospheric CO2 caused acidification of the oceans and global warming that killed off 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species on Earth.
Did it rain 2 million years?
About 232 million years ago, during a span known as the Carnian age, it
rained almost everywhere
. After millions of years of dry climates, Earth entered a wet period lasting one million to two million years. Nearly any place where geologists find rocks of that age, there are signs of wet weather.
