The Mesozoic Era, otherwise known as The Age of the Dinosaurs was one of the most well known times before man dawned on the earth. But what do we know about these fantastic beasts and the time they lived in. Today we will be going over the Triassic Period, the first part of The Mesozoic Era and finding out what dinosaurs lived there, what Earth was like back then, and what plants these beasts might have been around (and eaten).
What Dinos Lived At That Time? Dinosaurs started appearing in the Late Triassic Period. Some of the herbivores were the Coloradisaurus which was a sauropod (a very large quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck and tail, small head, and massive limbs) and was found in Argentina, the Plateosaurus which was another sauropod and was found in France, Germany, and Switzerland, and the Melanorosaurus which was again a sauropod and was found South Africa. Some of the carnivores that lived at this time were saltopus which was a small theropod (it was like a small velociraptor) that was found in Scotland and The United Kingdom, the Liliensternus which was another small theropod and was found in France and Germany, another one of these meat eaters was the Eoraptor which is another small theropod and was found Argentina.
What Was The Earth Like Back Then? In the Late Triassic Period all of the continents were together as a giant supercontinent known as Pangea. The climate was warm and dry and there wasn’t much tectonic activity. It wasn't until the near end of the Triassic Period that the tectonic plates started moving and Pangea slowly became the seven continents we know today This caused a huge eruption located where the Atlantic Ocean is today and Started another mass extinction just like when the Triassic age started. But it wasn’t as powerful and mostly water animals died. It is theorized that the seven continents will someday come together to create another supercontinent!
What Plants Grew At That Time? Plants were pretty important to the Dinosaurs. Because if you take out the plants the Herbivores would disappear and then the Carnivores. So when we want to know about the Triassic Period we have to learn about the plants at that time. During the Triassic Period most of the plants that grew on the ground were ferns while most canopy plants were gymnosperms (plants with exposed seeds), cycadeoids (an extinct type of plant), cycads, and ginkgoes (which both are still surviving types of plant.) There weren't many flowers at the time because of widespread aridity. But there were a lot of water loving plants such as horsetails, ferns, and lycopods (a type of plant that now is only represented by club mosses.)
Today we went over what Dinosaurs ruled the Triassic, what the Earth was like back then, and what plants grew at that time. I hope you feel inspired by these fantastic beasts and what it was like 220 million years ago and decide to look up more about the Mesozoic Era. Maybe learn about the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Maybe someday scientists will find a way to bring back these gigantic lizards and find more about them. But until then we will just have to imagine.
Question 1: Where was the Plateosaurus found?
Correct: France, Germany, and Switzerland
Wrong: France, England, and In World War II
Wrong: Germany, Austria, and Japan
Wrong: Switzerland, Ireland, and Greenland
Question 2: When did Pangea start separating?
Correct: At the near end of the Triassic
Wrong: When Star Wars actually happened
Wrong: Right at the end of the Triassic
Wrong: at the beginning of the Triassic
Question 3: What are gymnosperms?
Correct: Plants with exposed seeds
Wrong: Venomous snakes
Wrong: An extinct type of plants
Wrong: Mushrooms
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