| Mesozoic |
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The Mesozoic was a time of Tectonic , Climatic and Evolution ary activity. The continents gradually shifted from a state of connectedness into their present configuration; the rifting provided for Speciation and other important evolutionary developments. The climate was exceptionally warm throughout the period, also playing an important role in the evolution and diversification of new Animal species. By the end of the era, the basis of modern life was in place. GEOLOGIC PERIODS Following the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic extended roughly 180 million years: from 251 million years ago ( Mya ) to when the Cenozoic era began 65 Mya. This time frame is separated into three geologic Periods . From oldest to youngest:
The lower (Triassic) boundary is set by the Permian-Triassic Extinction , during which approximately 90% to 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates became Extinct . It is also known as the "Great Dying" because it is considered the largest mass extinction in history. The upper (Cretaceous) boundary is set at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) Extinction , which may have been caused by the meteor that created the Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatán Peninsula . Approximately 50% of all genera became extinct, including all of the non- Avian dinosaurs. TECTONICS After the vigorous convergent plate Mountain-building of the late Paleozoic, Mesozoic tectonic deformation was comparatively mild. Nevertheless, the era featured the dramatic rifting of the Supercontinent Pangaea . Pangaea gradually split into a northern continent, Laurasia , and a southern continent, Gondwana . This created the passive continental margin that characterizes most of the Atlantic coastline (such as along the U.S. East Coast ) today. Stanley, Steven M. ''Earth System History''. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999. ISBN 0-7167-2882-6 By the end of the era, the continents had rifted into nearly their present form. Laurasia became North America and Eurasia , while Gondwana split into South America , Africa , Australia , Antarctica and the Indian Subcontinent , which collided with the Asian plate during the Cenozoic, the impact giving rise to the Himalaya s. CLIMATE The Triassic was generally dry, a trend that began in the late Carboniferous , and highly seasonal, especially in the interior of Pangaea. Low sea levels may have also exacerbated temperature extremes. With its high Specific Heat Capacity , Water acts as a temperature-stabilizing heat, and land areas near large bodies of water—especially the Ocean s—experience less variation in temperature. Because much of the land that constituted Pangaea was distant from the oceans, temperatures fluctuated greatly, and the interior of Pangaea probably included expansive areas of Desert . Abundant evidence of Red Beds and evaporites such as Salt support these conclusions. Sea levels began to rise during the Jurassic, which was probably caused by an increase in Seafloor Spreading . The formation of new crust beneath the surface displaced ocean waters by as much as 200 m more than today, which flooded coastal areas. Furthermore, Pangaea began to rift into smaller divisions, bringing more land area in contact with the ocean by forming the Tethys Sea . Temperatures continued to increase and began to stabilize. Humidity also increased with the proximity of water, and deserts retreated. The climate of the Cretaceous is less certain and more widely disputed. Higher levels of . In fact, by the middle Cretaceous, equatorial ocean waters (perhaps as warm as 20 °C in the deep ocean) may have been too warm for sea life, and land areas near the equator may have been deserts despite their proximity to water. The circulation of Oxygen to the deep ocean may also have been disrupted. For this reason, large volumes of organic matter accumulated because they were unable to Decompose and were eventually Deposited as " Black Shale ". Not all of the data support these hypotheses, however. Even with the overall warmth, temperature fluctuations should have been sufficient for the presence of Polar Ice Cap s and Glacier s, but there is no evidence of either. Quantitative models have also been unable to recreate the flatness of the Cretaceous temperature gradient. LIFE The extinction of nearly all animal species at the end of the s, Pterosaur s, and aquatic reptiles such as Ichthyosaur s, Plesiosaur s, and Mosasaur s. The climatic changes of the late Jurassic and Cretaceous provided for further adaptive radiation. The Jurassic was the height of archosaur diversity, and the first Bird s and Placental Mammal s also appeared. Angiosperms radiated sometime in the early Cretaceous, first in the Tropics , but the even temperature gradient allowed them to spread toward the poles throughout the period. By the end of the Cretaceous, angiosperms dominated tree floras in many areas, although some evidence suggests that Biomass was still dominated by Cycad and Fern s until after the KT extinction. Some have argued that Insect s diversified with angiosperms because insect Anatomy , especially the Mouth parts, seems particularly well-suited for flowering plants. However, all major insect mouth parts preceded angiosperms and insect diversification actually slowed when they arrived, so their anatomy originally must have been suited for some other purpose. As the temperatures in the seas increased, the larger animals of the early Mesozoic gradually began to disappear while smaller animals of all kinds, including Lizard s, Snake s, and perhaps the ancestor Mammal s to Primate s, evolved. The KT extinction exacerbated this trend. The large archosaurs became extinct, while birds and mammals thrived, as they do today. REFERENCES
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