Biodiversity
Brain
Genetics
Marine BiOLogy
MicrobiOLogy
PaleontOLogy
ZoOLogy
AnthropOLogy
ArchaeOLogy
Astronomy
Climate Change
Earth
Physics
Water
polar climates
hot, dry climates
warm, wet climates
Correct!
Scientists believe these regions had wet, warm climates, with forests of conifers, horsetails, and ferns.
When: 250-200 million years ago (Mesozoic Era)
Name origin: "Tri" is Latin for three, for the three rock layers from this period found in Germany.
Biological events: Mass extinctions at beginning and end of Triassic; appearance of first turtles, frogs, crocodiles, flying pterosaurs, small mammals, and early dinosaurs
Geological events: Pangaea began to split into two landmasses during the Late Triassic
The interior of Pangaea was hot and desert like, while the regions farthest north and south had:
Many animals appeared during the Triassic, such as pterosaurs, turtles, crocodiles, and dinosaurs. Another group to appear were the:
first mammals
first sharks
first human ancestors
Correct!
Small, nocturnal mammals began to appear during this period. The first sharks appeared about 200 million years earlier, and the first human ancestors would not appear until 175 million years after the Triassic.
Dinosaurs dominated the Earth during most of the Triassic Period.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fiction
Dinosaurs did not appear until the end of the Triassic, and even then they were dominated by crocodilian relatives.
In the Late Triassic, pangaea broke apart into the seven continents we know today.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fiction
Pangaea began to break apart into two large continents: Gondwana (South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, and Australia) and Laurasia (North America, Europe, and Asia).