The Mesozoic Era Biblical Reference He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who...
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The Mesozoic Era Biblical Reference He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness,
Biblical Reference He who forms the mountains, who creates the
wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to
darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth the Lord God
Almighty is his name.. Amos 4:13
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The Mesozoic Era The Mesozoic Era lasted from 251 MYA to 65
MYA. Mass extinction of the Paleozoic Era provided opportunities
for drastically different life forms. The life forms filled empty
niches Three Periods Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous
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The Mesozoic Periods
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Breakup of Pangaea Beginning of Era Single global ocean Single
continent Triassic Period Pangaea begins to break apart Heat
beneath the continent caused it to expand Brittle lithosphere began
to crack Cracks widened and continent began to split Eventually
Pangaea split into two separate landmasses - Gondwanaland and
Laurasia
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Seaways The climate of the Mesozoic Era was warmer than the
Paleozoic Era. With no glaciers, the oceans had more water. Mid
ocean rift systems developed Seaways widened Atlantic Ocean began
forming Triassic Period
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The Triassic World
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The Jurassic World
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The Cretaceous World
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Changing Sea Level Mid-Ocean Rift systems responsible for rise
in sea level Hot magma displaced seawater as new rock was formed
Sea Level dropped at the end of the Triassic Period Desert-like
conditions formed in Western North America Sea level rose again in
Jurassic Period Continued to rise in Cretaceous Period
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Changing Sea Level Sea level rose during most of the Mesozoic
Era.
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Effects of Changing Sea Level A beach environment covered the
continents margins. Resulting sandstone covered by shale and
limestone deposits that included the first corals, building organic
reefs. Organic reefs are structures composed of carbonate skeletons
made by living organisms. Reefs affect the environments in which
they grow. Many new organisms evolved.
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The Great Lakes area of North America contains huge deposits of
Silurian-aged evaporite minerals, including halite, anhydrite, and
gypsum that are mined commercially.
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Mesozoic Geography Throughout the Mesozoic era, the North
American continent moved westward. Its western edge collided with
several small landmasses carried on an ancient oceanic plate. The
Rocky Mountains began forming from this collision.
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The Rocky Mountains
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Mesozoic Life
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Phytoplankton Microscopic organism at the base of the marine
food chain Abundant during Cretaceous White Cliffs of Dover: Chalk
deposits from remains of shells
Slide 21
Life Moves to Land For the first time in the history of life on
Earth, land was colonized during the Mesozoic. Fossilized plant
parts and spores suggest that some form of land plant existed
during the Late Ordovician.
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Mesozoic Plant Life As temperatures warmed, plant life changed
Tall cycad trees Seed plants with true flowers Ginkgoes Pine trees
Conifers Vascular plants have tissue for circulating water and
nutrients through their stems and leaves. The development of
vascular tissue allowed plants to spread out on land.
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Mesozoic Plant Life By the Late Devonian, three important
groups of vascular spore-bearing plants were living on land: ferns,
sphenopsids, and lycopods. During the Late Devonian, seed ferns
developed. The most important aspect of these plants was the
development of seeds, which allowed plants to spread out and
colonize dry land.
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Terrestrial Animals Late Triassic Mammals Same time as
dinosaurs Remained small during Mesozoic Era Amniotic Eggs Contain
food and water required by developing embryo
Two Groups of Dinosaurs Ornithischian Hips were similar to
modern bird hips Carnivorous short-necked Herbivorous, long-necked
Saurischian Hips were similar to reptile hips Herbivorous with
grinding-teeth Herbivorous without grinding-teeth
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Flying & Swimming Animals Plesiosaurs: Mesozoic marine
reptiles with small heads, long necks, and flippersPlesiosaurs
Pterosaurs: Mesozoic flying reptiles with large, batlike
wingsPterosaurs
Slide 28
Mass Extinction Devastated terrestrial dinosaurs Most marine
reptiles Plants Todays theory Massive and volcanism and large
meteorite (10 km diameter) impact caused climate problems Occurred
at end of Cretaceous Caused long lasting greenhouse warming Layer
of clay from that time contains high amounts of iridium Rare on
Earth but common in asteroids
Slide 29
Mass Extinctions
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What organisms went extinct? All dinosaurs All pterosaurs All
ichthyosaurs Many terrestrial plants Many marine animals
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What organisms survived? Mammals Birds Trees with flowers Many
plants (ferns were the most successful plant for a while) Small
lizards/crocodiles/alligators/turtles Fish, squids, sharks,
etc.
Slide 32
Australias First 4 Billion Years
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A.the breakup of Pangaea B.Cretaceous extinction event
C.formation of the Rocky Mountains D.an ice age What was the
dominant geologic event of the Mesozoic era? Pop Quiz
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A.the Cambrian came to an end B.dinosaurs slowly went extinct
C.sea levels fell D.sea levels rose What occurred during most of
the Mesozoic Era? Pop Quiz
Slide 35
A.fish B.mammals C.plesiosaurs D.pterosaurs Which was a
Mesozoic flying reptile with large, batlike wings? Pop Quiz