Jurassic
| Eon | Era | Period | Epoch | Start Million years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phanerozoic | Cainozoic | Palaeogene | Palaeocene | 66 |
| Mesozoic | Cretaceous | Upper Cretaceous | 100.5 | |
| Lower Cretaceous | 145 | |||
| Jurassic | Upper Jurassic | 163.5 | ||
| Middle Jurassic | 174.1 | |||
| Lower Jurassic | 201.3 | |||
| Triassic | Upper Triassic | 237 | ||
| Middle Triassic | 247.2 | |||
| Lower Triassic | 252.17 | |||
| Palaeozoic | Permian | 298.9 | ||
The Jurassic period is one of the periods of the geological time scale. It is in the middle of the Mesozoic era, from 201.3 to 145 million years ago. The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods were the periods when dinosaurs lived on the Earth.
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Climate [change]
Climatically, the Jurassic had higher temperatures, carbon dioxide levels and sea-levels compared to today. The Kimmeridge Clay of the Upper Jurassic was laid down in an environment which is not present on the earth today,[1] with much of Western Europe being covered by a high sea-level which has been related to opening of the Atlantic. The consequence of this is that the UK was covered by a shallow and largely anoxic sea, perhaps less than 100m deep, with occasional landmasses.
This was shallower water than the Blue Lias of the Lower Jurassic. It was often low in oxygen, which in turn led to only partially decomposition of its organic material. The mudstones are organic-rich, and gave rise to most of the North Sea oil.[1]
Plate tectonics [change]
There were forces of tension and rifting (breaking apart) to make the supercontinents Laurasia and Gondwana. This was the start of the break-up of Pangaea, a process which took a long time to complete.
Floods of lava flowed from fissures (splits) and volcanos. By the end of the Jurassic, South America had begun to part from Africa. In the western part of North America, mountain ranges began to form. This continued as the American tectonic plates gradually moved west. The westward moving North American plates gradually rode over the Pacific Ocean plates to form the Rocky Mountains.[2]
Palaeontology [change]
On sea and land, evolutionary trends which started in the Upper Triassic kept going through the Jurassic. The land biota was dominated by Archosaurian reptiles. In general, the climate was hotter and wetter than today. Reptile groups radiated and filled many niches. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine reptiles (Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, turtles) all flourished.[3] Amongst invertebrates there was much change. Modern predators like starfish, crabs and hole-boring gastropods took over the sea-floor, eating the benthic fauna in huge numbers. Brachiopods lost their grip on the in-shore habitats; molluscan bivalves took their place.
Early mammals existed, but mostly as small creatures living in burrows, on the margins of a reptilian world. The first fossils which show small dinosaurs with feathers are found: Anchiornis. The first fossil bird, Archaeopteryx, is found in the Upper Jurassic. The dominant land plants were the gymnosperms.
Subdivisions [change]
Here is a table showing the subdivisions recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.
| Period | Epoch | Age | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jurassic | Lower Jurassic | Hettingian | 201 - 199 million years ago |
| Sinemurian | 199 - 190 million years ago | ||
| Pliensbachian | 190 - 182 million years ago | ||
| Toarcian | 182 - 174 million years ago | ||
| Middle Jurassic | Aalenian | 174 - 170 million years ago | |
| Bajocian | 170 - 168 million years ago | ||
| Bathonian | 168 - 166 million years ago | ||
| Callovian | 166 - 163 million years ago | ||
| Upper Jurassic | Oxfordian | 163 - 157 million years ago | |
| Kimmeridgian | 157 - 152 million years ago | ||
| Tithon | 152 - 145 million years ago |
Other pages [change]
References [change]
| Precambrian (4.567 gya – 541 mya) | |
|---|---|
| In the left column are Eons, bold are Eras, not bold are Periods. gya = billion years ago, mya = million years ago | |
| Hadean (4.567 gya – 4 gya) | |
| Archaean (4 gya – 2.5 gya) | |
| Proterozoic (4 gya – 2.5 gya) | Palaeoproterozoic (2.5 gya – 1.6 gya)
Mesoproterozoic (1.6 gya – 1 gya) Neoproterozoic (1 gya - 541 mya) Tonian (1 gya – 850 mya) Cryogenian (850 mya – 635 mya) Ediacaran (635 mya – 541 mya) |
| Source | International Chronostratigraphic Chart 2013. International Commission on Stratigraphy, retrieved 8 April 2013. Divisions of geologic time – major chronostratigraphic and geochronologic units USGS, retrieved 8 April 2013. |
