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What three periods comprise the mesozoic?
- Triassic
- Jurassic
- Cretaceous
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Globally, what happens during the Mesozoic?
The break up of pangea although it doesnt start until the end of the triassic
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What time period do the outcrops of North America come from?
Mainly the cretaceous, there are barely any from the jurassic or triassic
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What are rift evaporites?
As pangea rifted, shallow warm seas flooded in and evaporites were formed extensively
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What happens to the climate during the mesozic?
The continental climate gets cooler as Pangea splits up.
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What is the Sonoma Orogeny?
a volcanic island arc hits the west of the United States in the beginning of the Triassic
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What is the Chinle Formation?
Proves that Pangea was not completely desertous as these rocks werelayed down in very wet forrested areas. The petrified forest is part of this formation
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When does East Coast rifting occur?
The end of the triassic
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What caused the Pallisades?
Igneous activity from rifting
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When was the Cordilleran Orogeny and where did it take place?
From tge Jurassic onwards, west coast
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What is the Farallon plate?
An oceanic plate that was subducted under the west coast and caused the Cordilleran Orogeny
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What are the Navajo Sandstones?
A jurassic deposit of desert sand dunes
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What was the sundance sea?
A jurassic shallow sea that flooded the interior of North America
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What is the Morrison formation?
Consists of deposits that were layed down in and around the sundance sea, famous for dino fossils. Jurassic in age.
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Where is the Dinosaur National Monument?
On top of the Morrison formation
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What was the Cretaceous interior seaway?
North American interior seaway caused by faster spreading rates of continents
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What is special about the DFW cretaceous strata?
It shows the transgression and regression of the Interior seaway
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What are coccoliths?
microscopic creatures that form chalk
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What is special about the kimberly diamonds?
They were brought up as a result of volcanic activity associated with the breakup of pangea in South Africa
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What was the Triassic Recovery?
The first third of the triassic when life recovered from the extinction event
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When did dinosaurs evolve?
During the Triassic
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How many extra holes do archosaurs have in their skull?
Three
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What was special about these archosaurs?
They had a vertical active posture
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What type of blood did they appear to have?
Warm
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What was the first known dinosaur?
Eoraptor
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How were the saurischians and ornothischians different?
They had different pelvic structures and saurichiands were mostly carnivours while ornothischians were mainly herbivores
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Why were feathers origially evolved?
Insulation but later for ornamentation and attraction.
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What did the evolution of feathers create?
Birds
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What is the first known bird?
Archioptrix
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What were the pterosaurs?
They evolved in the triassic with a distinct anatomy for flight
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What was special about the marine reptiles?
They evolved in the permian but increased in diversity during the mesozoic
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When did the first true mammals evolve?
The triassic
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What was the first mammal?
Megazostrodon
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What were angiosperms?
Flowering plants
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What was the first flowering plant?
Archaefructus
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When did the extinction event occur and what does it mark?
At the end of the cretaceous, the boundary between cretaceous and cenozoic
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Where was the Chichulub crater and why is it significant?
The yucatan peninsula, significant because it seems to be where the meteorite struck that killed off 65% of life.
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What were the Deccan Traps?
They were located in india and showed a huge outpouring of lava as well as poisonous gas.
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What is the Shiva Crater?
A controversial crater that may be bigger that the chicxulub and may have actually helped with the extinction event
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