Page 72 - Ultimate Visual Dictionary (DK)

PREHISTORIC EAR TH

Jurassic period JURASSIC POSITIONS OF
PRESENT-DAY LANDMASSES
Europe
THE JURASSIC PERIOD, the middle part of the Mesozoic North Arabia
era, lasted from 199 to 145 million years ago. During Jurassic America Asia
times, the landmass of Pangaea broke up into the continents
of Gondwana and Laurasia, and sea levels rose, flooding areas
of lower land. The Jurassic climate was warm and moist.
Plants such as ginkgos, horsetails, and conifers thrived,
and giant redwood trees appeared, as did the first flowering
plants. The abundance of plant food coincided with the
proliferation of herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs, such
as the large sauropods (e.g., Diplodocus) and stegosaurs
(e.g., Stegosaurus). Carnivorous (flesh eating) dinosaurs,
such as Compsognathus and Allosaurus, also flourished
by hunting the many animals that existed—among them
Australia
other dinosaurs. Further Jurassic animals included shrewlike South
mammals, and pterosaurs (flying reptiles), as well as plesiosaurs America Africa India
and ichthyosaurs (both marine reptiles). Antarctica

EXAMPLES OF JURASSIC PLANT GROUPS

A PRESENT-DAY FERN A PRESENT-DAY HORSETAIL A PRESENT-DAY CONIFER FOSSIL LEAF OF AN FOSSIL LEAF OF AN
(Dicksonia antarctica) (Equisetum arvense) (Taxus baccata) EXTINCT CONIFER EXTINCT REDWOOD
(Taxus sp.) (Sequoiadendron
affinis)
EXAMPLES OF JURASSIC DINOSAURS

DIPLODOCUS CAMPTOSAURUS DRYOSAURUS
Group: Diplodocidae Group: Iguanodontia Group: Dryosauridae
Length: 88 ft (26.8 m) Length: 16–23 ft (4.9–7 m) Length: 10–13 ft (3–4 m)
70