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• Basic Overview
 The Age of Dinosaurs
At the end of the Permian Period, the greatest mass extinction in Earth’s history changed life forever. From a few survivors, life arose that was so new and different that scientists recognize the beginning of a new era: the Mesozoic Era. This 183-million-year age spans the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
Plant and animal life changed dramatically.
During the Mesozoic Era, flowering plants first blossomed. Mammals evolved from one group of tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) that survived the third mass extinction. Some reptiles took to the air; others plunged into the seas.
 Dinosaurs began their 160-million-year success story.
Perhaps the most popular creatures from the Mesozoic Era, dinosaurs appeared in the Triassic Period, but were not very diverse until the Jurassic Period. Eventually, most would disappear during the fifth mass extinction, which occured at the end of the Mesozoic Era, but before it was over, these creatures would give rise to birds: dinosaurs that still live today.
Continue to Plant Survivors. >>
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