Portal:Jurassic

Topics Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology The Jurassic Portal Mounted skeletons at the AMNH. The Jurassic (/dʒuːˈræsɪk/; from Jura Mountains of the Alps) is a geologic period and system that extends from 201.3 Ma (million years ago) to 145 Ma; from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era, also known as the Age of Reptiles. The start of the period is marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. Two other extinction events occurred during the period: the Late Piensbachian/Early Toarcian event in the Early Jurassic, and the Late Tithonian event at the end; however, neither event ranks among the 'Big Five' mass extinctions. The Jurassic is named after the Jura Mountains within the European Alps, where limestone strata from the period was first identified. By the beginning of the Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea had begun rifting into two landmasses, Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. This created more coastlines and shifted the continental climate from dry to humid, and many of the arid deserts of the Triassic were replaced by lush rainforests. On land, the fauna transitioned from the Triassic fauna, dominated by both dinosauromorph and crocodylomorph archosaurs, to one dominated by dinosaurs alone. The first birds also appeared during the Jurassic, having evolved from a branch of theropod dinosaurs. Other major events include the appearance of the earliest lizards, and the evolution of therian mammals, including primitive placentals. Crocodylians made the transition from a terrestrial to an aquatic mode of life. The oceans were inhabited by marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, while pterosaurs were the dominant flying vertebrates. (see more...) Template:/box-footer The geology of Scotland is unusually varied for a country of its size, with a large number of differing geological features. There are three main geographical sub-divisions: the Highlands and Islands is a diverse area which lies to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault; the Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations; and the Southern Uplands, which lie south of the Southern Uplands Fault, are largely composed of Silurian deposits. The existing bedrock includes very ancient Archean gneiss, metamorphic beds interspersed with granite intrusions created during the Caledonian mountain building period (the Caledonian orogeny), commercially important coal, oil and iron bearing carboniferous deposits and the remains of substantial Paleogene volcanoes. During their formation, tectonic movements created climatic conditions ranging from polar to desert to tropical and a resultant diversity of fossil remains. Scotland has also had a role to play in many significant discoveries such as plate tectonics and the development of theories about the formation of rocks and was the home of important figures in the development of the science including James Hutton, (the "father of modern geology") Hugh Miller and Archibald Geikie. Various locations such as 'Hutton's Unconformity' at Siccar Point in Berwickshire and the Moine Thrust in the north west were also important in the development of geological science. (see more...) Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology (2005) is a graphic novel written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by the company Big Time Attic. The book tells a slightly fictionalized account of the Bone Wars, a period of intense excavation, speculation, and rivalry which led to a greater understanding of dinosaurs in the western United States. This novel is the first semi-fictional work written by Ottaviani; previously, he had taken no creative license with the characters he depicted, portraying them strictly according to historical sources. Bone Sharps follows the two scientists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh as they engage in an intense rivalry for prestige. Ottaviani has Cope and Marsh interact and meet many important figures of the Gilded Age, from P. T. Barnum to U.S. Grant, as the two scientists pursue their hotheaded and sometimes illegal acquisitions of fossils. Unlike in his previous books, "the scientists are the bad guys this time". Upon release, the novel received praise from critics for its exceptional historical content, although some reviewers wished more fiction had been woven into the story. (see more...) Fossil of the Late Jurassic ammonoid Ochetoceras canaliculatum A fossil shell of the harpoceratid ammonoid Ochetoceras canaliculatum. The shell dates back to the Oxfordian age (157.3–163.5 million years ago) of the Late Jurassic epoch and is about 9 cm in diameter. It was collected near Wildegg, Switzerland. Photo credit: H. Zell ... that Lepidotus was a genus of prehistoric fish that existed from the Late Triassic (Rhaetic) to the middle Cretaceous (Cenomanian)? ... that highlights from the history of troodontid research include the discovery that troodontids (example pictured) were among the brainiest dinosaurs? ... that the extinct horsetail Equisetum thermale grew in Jurassic hot springs? ... that the extinct spider Eoplectreurys is the oldest described genus of Haplogynae, predating spiders from Cretaceous amber in Jordan and Lebanon? ... that the plesiosaur Bathyspondylus was first described in 1982 from a specimen collected in 1774? Template:/box-header Epochs - Early Jurassic - Middle Jurassic - Late Jurassic Stages - Hettangian - Sinemurian - Pliensbachian - Toarcian - Aalenian - Bajocian - Bathonian - Callovian - Oxfordian - Kimmeridgian - Tithonian Events - Cambrian–Ordovician extinction event - Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event - Taconic orogeny - Late Ordovician glaciation - Alice Springs Orogeny - Ordovician–Silurian extinction event Landmasses - Baltica - Gondwana - Laurentia - Siberia Bodies of water - Iapetus Ocean - Khanty Ocean - Proto-Tethys Ocean - Rheic Ocean - Tornquist Sea - Ural Ocean Animals - Articulate brachiopods - Bryozoans - Cornulitids - Crinoids - Cystoids - Gastropods - Graptolites - Jawed fishes - Nautiloids - Ostracoderms - Rugose corals - Star fishes - Tabulate corals - Tentaculitids - Trilobites Trace fossils - Petroxestes - Trypanites Plants - Marchantiophyta Fossil sites - Beecher's Trilobite Bed - Walcott–Rust quarry Stratigraphic units - Chazy Formation - Fezouata formation - Holston Formation - Kope Formation - Potsdam Sandstone - St. Peter Sandstone Researchers - Charles Emerson Beecher - Charles Lapworth - Charles Doolittle Walcott Culture - Animal Armageddon - List of creatures in the Walking with... series - Sea Monsters Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header Featured Mesozoic articles - Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards - Bone Wars - Edward Drinker Cope - Geology of the Capitol Reef area - Geology of the Death Valley area -Geology of the Grand Canyon area - Geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area Good Mesozoic articles - Chitinozoan - Coal ball - Dimetrodon - History of paleontology - Evolutionary history of life - Ornatifilum - Opabinia - Paleontology- Schinderhannes - Small shelly fauna - Temnospondyli - Tiktaalik - Waptia Template:/box-footer ▼ Mesozoic ► Triassic ► Jurassic ► Cretaceous ► Mesozoic life Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Stubs : Mesozoic stubs, Triassic stubs, Jurassic stubs, Cretaceous stubs Current Paleozoic FACs - none currently Template:/box-footer Time Earth sciences Paleontology Extinct and Endangered Species Paleozoic Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Cenozoic What are portals? 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