The Triassic Period stretched from about 252 to 201 million years ago. This means that is saw two mass extinctions and the beginning and the end of the period. It’s so difficult to chose just 5 facts about a period of 50 million years, but I did it! I picked the best 5 facts out there. Anyone claiming to have better facts is a liar. From it’s earliest beginnings and scorching hot weather, to a time when reptiles ruled the earth due to a mass extinction. This is a list of 5 amazing facts about the Triassic Period.
Mesozoic Era
The Triassic period was the earliest period of he mesozoic era and went on from around 251 million and 199 million years ago. At this time the climate was very dry, with scorching hot summers and freezing winters. The world was a lot warmer back then, even in parts of the world very far away from the equator.
Pangea
During this time the world was one huge land mass instead of seven continents like it is today. It’s known as a Pangea. Near the end of the Triassic period it began to split into two continents and the Tethys ocean appeared. It’s weird to think of all the continents being just one, but that’s what can happen over a 250 million year time gap.
Permian Period
It followed the great mass extinction of the Permian period(otherwise known as The Great Dying Event). Which was the worst mass extinction known to mankind. A total of 96% of marine species were wiped out, and 70% terrestrial species. It took life on earth to recover longer after this event that any other mass extinction there was. Estimates say it could have been up to 10 million years. After a while life outside the oceans began to diversify
.Millions Of Years
The extinction event went on for a very long time, possibly millions of years. There a lot of things that could have caused this, some of the possibilities are – flood basalt eruptions, a drop in oxygen levels, catastrophic methane release, asteroid impact, and sea level fluctuations.
Age Of Reptiles
The Mesozoic era was known as the Age of Reptiles. This is because two of the only species to survive the extinction were reptiles. They were Therapsids, and Archosaurs. The Therapsids eventually became extinct around the mid-Mesozoic era, but the Archosaurs became the dominant creature a the time. The few remaining Therapsids evolved into mammals near the end of the Triassic period.