JURASSIC IS THE MIDDLE PART OF THE MESOZOIC ERA
FAMOUS AS GOLDEN AGE OF DINOSAURS AND AN AGE OF GYMNOSPERMS WAS ALSO A N AGE OF TRANSITION -A TIME OF RAPID EVOLUTION OF MAMMALS AND BIRDS ',BUTTERFLIES ' AND CORALLINE ALGAE -
3. Trials & Tribulations 3
‘Doublebeam’ Diplodocus –a common Sauropod
Nobu Tamura– Sinops– Wc – cc
‘Other lizard’ Allosaurus- largest land predator
Nobu Tamura– spinops– Wc –cc
‘ Roof lizard‘ Stegosaurus - a herbivore
Nobu Tamura – spinops– Wc – cc
4. Trials & Tribulations 4
ferns of Matoniaceae look like ancestors Conifers
S.J Moore .evrythingdinosaur.co.uk Uther SRG –Wc..cc
petrified cones of Jurassic Arauocaria
Brocken inaglory - Wc – cc
Lacewing ‘butterfly’ Owl butterfly Jurassic lacewing
Yang etal – cc-ScientificAmerican Jim Diloretto .Science mag . Jorge S &Conrad
5. Trials & Tribulations 5
Jurassicmammals
Microdocodont on Bennettitales
April1neander- university of chicago Sci news
Castorocauda
Nobu Tamura– spinops– Wc – cc
6. Trials & Tribulations 6
JurassicBirds
Aurornis - First Dinobird!
El fosilmaniaco – Wc – cc
Archaeopteryx
Nobu Tamura - Wc - cc
Caihong Juji
velizar simeonovsidfieldmuseum-sci-news
7. Trials & Tribulations Mesozoic era 7
Jurassicperiod
Most famous periodof
The paleontological times
madepopular by JurassicPark
picturein recent times
The golden Ageof Dinosaurs
A well known Age of Gymnosperms
it was middleperiodof the Mesozoic
era of the present Phanerozoiceon
Giant reptilesruled the world then
roaming freelyin densejungles of
Ferns ,Tree ferns and tall trees of
the naked seeded Gymnosperms
but what makes it more interesting
is the fact it saw furtherdevelopment
of recentlyevolved little mammals
and birds stillin their transitional phase
8. Trials & Tribulations 8
The reptilesincludednot only
land roamingvarieties such as
huge Diplodocus , Allosaurus
and Stegosaurus but also
Pterosaurs– the flying reptiles
from birdliketinycute Anurognathus
to largeones likePlataleorhynchus
and even larger laterin cretaceous
The so called Dinobirds were
not aves but avialan dinosaurs
such as Aurornis, Archaeopteryx
and other birdlike transitional forms
The land fauna includedamphibians
and turtleswhich were found in and
near lakes and riversapart from such
arthropods as Jurassic‘ butterflies’!
9. Trials & Tribulations 9
The newly evolved therians
were still smallmammalsbut were
developingrapidlyintoa varietyof forms
adoptinga varietyof lifestyles
from tiny mouseto cat sizedsome
of these were tree climbersor gliders
amongtrees ;otherswere burrowers
or swimmersin lakes or streams
Althoughreptiles claimed attention
the mammals continuedto thus evolve
at great speed specialize and diversify
“under Giantsfeet” or right“under theirnose”
The dino-birds also startedgliding
or flying when giantpterosaurs
were still ruling the Mesozoicskies;
and ‘soon’madetheir presencefelt.!
10. Trials & Tribulations 10
The wonder is that mammals and ‘birds’
not only lived merrily“in the shadowof
dinosaurs”! but outlivedthem ,radiated
multiplied and took over the world.
In the sea corallinealgae appeared
mollusks& fisheshad a hey day
but aquaticreptileslikeIchtheosaurs
and Plesiosaursruled the waves
In plantsapart from the ferns
Tree ferns and Gymnosperms
radiated and jungles developed
in warm and humidclimate
Amongstthe Gymnosperms
conifers dominatedthe scene
but cycads and ginkgoales
also flourished those days.
11. Trials & Tribulations 11
But lifewas not spared Trials
and tribulationsand had to face
extinctionsboth at the beginning
and near the end.of the period
And passedout thistimewithout
incurring heavydamage - how ?
some how ! by its instinct for survival!
or qualityof great resilience afterall !
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