The Mesozoic Era 240- 66 million years ago
This era is so significant because there was so much going on. Flowering plants grow and dinosaurs roam the Earth. First signs of mammals are found and the first birds are flying! It is so interesting!
The first event happened 200 million years ago. Pangea breaks apart and the continents start moving to their current positions. It all happened in stages, as shown in the picture to the left.
70 million years ago, South America breaks apart from Africa. It moved on its tectonic plate across what is now the Atlantic ocean .
This next one lasts for a while. From 208- 144 million years ago, North America
broke apart from South America. This allow both South America and North America to drift westward to their current positions.
The first event happened 200 million years ago. Pangea breaks apart and the continents start moving to their current positions. It all happened in stages, as shown in the picture to the left.
70 million years ago, South America breaks apart from Africa. It moved on its tectonic plate across what is now the Atlantic ocean .
This next one lasts for a while. From 208- 144 million years ago, North America
broke apart from South America. This allow both South America and North America to drift westward to their current positions.
240 million years ago, flowering plants grew. These were low-lying, and they also needed sunlight to grow. They produced seeds that were inside fruit so they could continue growing and evolving to what they are today!
15 million years, after flowers grew, one of the most known and exciting events happened. Dinosaurs! These large reptiles (Some with wings) took over the land when Pangea was still formed.
Mammals came to Earth 255 million years ago. These mammals were the first mammals on Earth. They evolved from warm blooded reptiles. These creatures were a lot like todays mammals like apes.
208 million years ago, the first birds evolve. This creature was almost a mix of a dinosaur and a modern bird. They had feathers like today but were very large like dinosaurs. They are known today as " The Wing Thing"!
144 million years ago, the first snakes appear. These slithery creatures evolved from some dinosaurs. They were in many colors and some being very poisonous. Snakes can eat something that looks too big for them to eat in one "GULP!"
Mass Extinction
This mass extinction may be the most known. Geologists believe that a large space object hit Earth. It's collision caused dust and debris to cover the sky. The sun was blocked so plants that relied on sunlight died and then that started a chain of events having the food die out them some animals, then more. During this mass extinction, dinosaurs became extinct. This happened 66 million years ago.