Jurassic Period Information and Facts (2024)

FAQs

What are interesting facts about the Jurassic period? ›

All of the major groups of mammals evolved, as well, although they were all small in size. Flowering plants appeared for the first time, and new insects evolved to pollinate flowers. The continents continued to move apart, and volcanic activity was especially intense.

201.3 (+/- 0.2) million years ago

Jurassic / Began

For Jurassic-era stegosauruses 200 million years ago, the day was perhaps 23 hours long and each year had about 385 days. Two hundred million years from now, the daily dramas for whatever we evolve into will unfold during 25-hour days and 335-day years.

A Shifting Climate and Developing Oceans

At the start of the period, the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea continued and accelerated. Laurasia, the northern half, broke up into North America and Eurasia. Gondwana, the southern half, began to break up by the mid-Jurassic.

This era includes the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods, names that may be familiar to you. It ended with a massive meteorite impact that caused a mass extinction, wiping out the dinosaurs and up to 80% of life on Earth. Mesozoic signposts are colored blue.

The Jurassic Period was a golden time for dinosaurs, which flourished for 180 million years. Huge sauropod herbivores (such as 87-foot [27-meter] long Diplodocus) and carnivores (such as 35-foot [11-meter] long Allosaurus) emerged.

Jurassic* ammonites and dinosaurs made a huge comeback after their near extinction at the end of the Triassic. Oysters, crabs, lobsters, and teleost (modern) fish appear. Plesiosaurs and marine crocodiles first appeared, joining icthyosaurs, sharks, bony fish, cephalopods and many other marine predators.

Many of the most famous dinosaurs of North America are from the Morrison Formation, such as Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus. Pterosaurs and mammals diversified, and turtles and crocodiles were also abundant.

By the beginning of the Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea had begun rifting into two landmasses: Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. The climate of the Jurassic was warmer than the present, and there were no ice caps. Forests grew close to the poles, with large arid expanses in the lower latitudes.

How hot was the Jurassic Period? ›

The average temperature of the Earth during the Jurassic period was around 16.5°C (61.7°F). This is warmer than the current average temperature, which is about 14°C (57.2°F).

Flexi Says: No, the Tyrannosaurus rex (T-Rex) lived during the late Cretaceous Period, not the Jurassic Period. The Cretaceous Period is the last period of the Mesozoic Era, which followed the Jurassic Period.

Jurassic Extinctions

In the oceans, there was a smaller extinction approximately 183 million years ago that is thought to have been the result of large volcanic eruptions. It reduced many groups of marine invertebrates. At the end of the Jurassic, many of the groups that had risen to dominance underwent a transition.

Conifers, cycadophytes, ginkgoes, ferns and large arborescent horsetails dominated the landscape. By the mid-Jurassic Period, conifers had become more diverse and many of their fossils have been assigned to modern families such as Araucariaceae, Pinaceae and Taxodiaceae.

Some like redwoods would have been large but about as large as today. Many conifers grow to 60 feet or more. Flowering plants didn't exist till late in the jurassic about 140 million years ago. They provided more nutritious food than the conifers and cycads and most likely had fruit for the seeds.

The Cretaceous Period started around 145.5 million years ago and ended around 65.5 million years ago. During this period, land on Earth was breaking up into separate continents the way it is today. Flowering plants appeared for the first time, and dinosaurs lived all over the Earth.

The Jurassic Period began in a world marked by the extinction event at the end of the Triassic, but is not known for any mass extinctions of similar extent. In the oceans, there was a smaller extinction approximately 183 million years ago that is thought to have been the result of large volcanic eruptions.

The Jurassic Period occurred more than 145 million years ago and was a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Some of the most common dinosaurs of the period included the Brachiosaurus, the Stegosaurus, and the Allosaurus. These massive creatures used their unique characteristics to dominate the animal kingdom.

Many of the most famous dinosaurs of North America are from the Morrison Formation, such as Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus. Pterosaurs and mammals diversified, and turtles and crocodiles were also abundant.