Concept in Definition ABC

The so-called Triassic period is integrated into the secondary or Mesozoic era. It began 250 million years ago and came to an end 50 million years later. During this stage the first mammals and dinosaurs appeared on Earth. By then practically all the continents were united in a supercontinent known as Pangea.

The beginning and end of the Triassic are determined by radical climatic changes and mass extinctions of species.

General characteristics of the Triassic

During this period the weather it was dry and warm, so there were great deserts. The vegetation had not fully developed, but near the areas with Water Ferns grew and these vegetables represented the food base of the first herbivorous dinosaurs.

During the Triassic the ancestors of dinosaurs, both herbivores and carnivores, began to dominate the world.

In this period the seas and the continental mass began to transform and for this reason some species of reptiles left the mainland and adapted to the aquatic environment.

At the end of the Triassic period there was a great extinction of animal species and as a consequence of this the so-called mammalian reptiles disappeared and the first mammals emerged. This circumstance made the dinosaurs become the species most predatory animal on the planet, since they lacked competence in its natural environment.

Triassic fossil records

The different fossil records provide relevant information for geologists and paleontologists. According to the data obtained, lystrosaurus are the herbivorous dinosaurs that were most abundant during this period.

Paleontologists investigate the causes that could have originated the mass extinctions. In this process of changing the fauna animal, sea turtles, crocodiles, some small mammals and dinosaurs survived.

Geological time classification

We normally handle time in days, months and years. If we talk about history we use other terms: decades, centuries or millennia. However, geologic time at great scale has a dimension very different, since it is calculated in millions of years.

From the formation of the Earth to the present, time is divided into three great eons: Archaic, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic. The latter began 540 million years ago and continues to the present. The Phanerozoic is divided into three major eras: Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. In the first, the most primitive living beings emerged and these were evolving in the second and third era. If we focus on the Mesozoic, it is divided into three sub-periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Photo: Fotolia - epifantsev