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Jurassic period the most famous of all periods of the Mesozoic era. Most likely, such fame Jurassic period acquired thanks to the film "Jurassic Park".
Jurassic period tectonics:
At first jurassic the single supercontinent Pangea began to disintegrate into separate continental blocks. Shallow seas formed between them. Intense tectonic movements at the end Triassic and at the beginning jurassic periods contributed to the deepening of large bays, which gradually separated Africa and Australia from Gondwana. The gulf between Africa and America deepened. Depressions formed in Eurasia: German, Anglo-Paris, West Siberian. The Arctic Sea flooded the northern coast of Laurasia. It is thanks to this that the climate of the Jurassic period became more humid. In the Jurassic the outlines of the continents begin to form: Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North and South America. And although they are located differently than now, they formed precisely in Jurassic period.
This is how the Earth looked at the end of the Triassic - the beginning jurassic
about 205 - 200 million years ago
This is how the Earth looked at the end of the Jurassic period, about 152 million years ago.
Climate and vegetation of the Jurassic period:
Volcanic activity of the end of the Triassic - the beginning jurassic caused the transgression of the sea. The continents separated and the climate in Jurassic period became wetter than in the Triassic. In place of the deserts of the Triassic period, in Jurassic period lush vegetation grew. Huge areas were covered with lush vegetation. The woods jurassic mainly consisted of ferns and gymnosperms.
Warm and humid climate jurassic contributed to the violent development of the plant world of the planet. Ferns, conifers, and cycads formed extensive marshy forests. Araucaria, arborvitae, cicadas grew on the coast. Ferns and horsetails formed vast forest areas. At the beginning jurassic, about 195 million years ago throughout the northern hemisphere, the vegetation was rather monotonous. But already starting from the middle of the Jurassic, about 170-165 million years ago, two (conditional) plant belts were formed: northern and southern. Ginkgo and herbaceous ferns predominated in the northern vegetation belt. AT Jurassic period Ginkgoaceae were very widespread. Groves of ginkgo trees grew throughout the belt.
In the southern vegetation belt, cycads and tree ferns predominated.
ferns jurassic and today preserved in some corners wildlife. Horsetails and club mosses almost did not differ from modern ones. Places of growth of ferns and cordaites jurassic now occupied by tropical forests, consisting mainly of cycads. Cycads - a class of gymnosperms that prevailed in the green cover of the Earth jurassic. Now they are found here and there in the tropics and subtropics. Dinosaurs roamed under the canopy of these trees. Outwardly, cycads are so similar to low (up to 10-18 m) palm trees that they were even initially identified as palm trees in the plant system.
AT Jurassic period ginkgo trees are also common - deciduous (which is unusual for gymnosperms) trees with an oak-like crown and small fan-shaped leaves. Only one species has survived to this day - ginkgo biloba. The first cypress and, possibly, spruce trees appear during the Jurassic period. coniferous forests
jurassic were similar to modern ones.
land animals Jurassic:
Jurassic period Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was the violent development of vegetation that contributed to the emergence of many species of herbivorous dinosaurs. The growth in the number of herbivorous dinosaurs gave impetus to the growth in the number of predators. Dinosaurs settled all over the land and lived in forests, lakes, swamps. The range of differences between them is so great that family ties between them are established with great difficulty. Diversity of dinosaur species Jurassic period it was great. They could be the size of a cat or a chicken, or they could reach the size of huge whales.
One of the fossils jurassic combining features of birds and reptiles is archeopteryx, or the first bird. For the first time, his skeleton was discovered in the so-called lithographic slates in Germany. The discovery was made two years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and became a strong argument in favor of the theory of evolution. Archeopteryx still flew rather poorly (planned from tree to tree), and was about the size of a crow. Instead of a beak, it had a pair of toothy, albeit weak jaws. It had free fingers on its wings (of modern birds, they were preserved only in hoatzin chicks).
Jurassic Sky Kings:
AT Jurassic period winged lizards - pterosaurs reigned supreme in the air. They appeared as early as the Triassic, but their heyday fell on Jurassic period Pterosaurs were represented by two groups pterodactyls and rhamphorhynchus .
Pterodactyls in most cases were tailless, different in size - from the size of a sparrow to a crow. They had wide wings and a narrow skull extended forward with a small number of teeth in the front. Pterodactyls lived big flocks on the shores of the lagoons of the late Jurassic sea. During the day they hunted, and at nightfall they hid in trees or in rocks. The skin of pterodactyls was wrinkled and bare. They ate mainly fish or carrion, sometimes sea lilies, mollusks, and insects. In order to take off, pterodactyls had to jump off rocks or trees.
AT Jurassic period the first birds appear, or something in between birds and lizards. Creatures that appeared in Jurassic period and possessing the properties of lizards and modern birds are called Archeopteryx. The first birds are Archeopteryx, the size of a dove. Archeopteryx lived in forests. They fed mainly on insects and seeds.
But Jurassic period is not limited to animals alone. Thanks to climate change and the rapid development of flora jurassic, the evolution of insects accelerated dramatically, and as a result, the Jurassic landscape eventually filled with endless buzzing and crackling, which were emitted by many new types of insects, crawling and flying everywhere. Among them were the predecessors of modern ants, bees, earwigs, flies and wasps..
Masters of the seas of the Jurassic period:
As a result of the split of Pangea, in Jurassic period, new seas and straits were formed, in which new types of animals and algae developed.
Compared to the Triassic, Jurassic period the population of the seabed has changed a lot. Bivalves displace brachiopods from shallow waters. Brachiopod shells are replaced by oysters. Bivalve molluscs fill all the vital niches of the seabed. Many stop collecting food from the ground and move on to pumping water with the help of gills. In warm and shallow seas jurassic other important events took place. AT Jurassic period a new type of reef communities is emerging, approximately the same as that which exists now. It is based on six-ray corals that appeared in the Triassic. The resulting giant coral reefs have sheltered numerous ammonites and new varieties of belemnites (old relatives of today's octopuses and squids). Also, many invertebrates settled in them, such as sponges and bryozoans (sea mats). Gradually, fresh sediments accumulated on the seabed.
On land, in lakes and rivers jurassic There were many different types of crocodiles, widely settled around the globe. There were also saltwater crocodiles with long snouts and sharp teeth for catching fish. Some of their varieties even grew flippers instead of legs to make it easier to swim. Tail fins allowed them to reach greater speed in water than on land. New species of sea turtles have also appeared.
All Jurassic Dinosaurs
Herbivorous dinosaurs:
According to modern ideas of scientists, the geological history of our planet is 4.5-5 billion years. In the process of its development, it is customary to single out the geological periods of the Earth.
general information
The geological periods of the Earth (table below) are a sequence of events that have occurred in the process of the development of the planet since the formation of earth's crust. Over time, various processes take place on the surface, such as the emergence and destruction of submersion of land areas under water and their uplift, glaciation, as well as the appearance and disappearance of various species of plants and animals, etc. Our planet bears obvious traces of its formation. Scientists claim that they are able to fix them with mathematical accuracy in various layers of rocks.
Main sediment groups
Geologists, trying to reconstruct the history of the planet, study rock layers. It is customary to divide these deposits into five main groups, highlighting the following geological eras Lands: ancient (Archaean), early (Proterozoic), ancient (Paleozoic), middle (Mesozoic) and new (Cenozoic). It is believed that the boundary between them runs along the largest evolutionary phenomena that have occurred on our planet. The last three eras, in turn, are divided into periods, since the remains of plants and animals are most clearly preserved in these deposits. Each stage is characterized by events that have had a decisive influence on the current relief of the Earth.
oldest stage
The Earth was distinguished by rather violent volcanic processes, as a result of which igneous granite rocks appeared on the surface of the planet - the basis for the formation of continental plates. At that time, only microorganisms existed here that could do without oxygen. It is assumed that deposits of the Archean era cover certain areas of the continents with an almost solid shield, they contain a lot of iron, silver, platinum, gold and ores of other metals.
early stage
It is also characterized by high volcanic activity. During this period, mountain ranges of the so-called Baikal folding were formed. To this day, they have practically not survived, today they are just separate insignificant uplifts on the plains. During this period, the Earth was inhabited by the simplest microorganisms and blue-green algae, the first multicellular organisms appeared. The Proterozoic rock layer is rich in minerals: mica, non-ferrous metal ores and iron ores.
ancient stage
The first period of the Paleozoic era was marked by the formation of mountain ranges. This led to a significant reduction in sea basins, as well as the emergence of huge land areas. Separate ranges of that period have survived to this day: in the Urals, in Arabia, Southeast China and Central Europe. All these mountains are "worn out" and low. The second half of the Paleozoic is also characterized by mountain building processes. Ranges were formed here. This era was more powerful, vast mountain ranges arose in the territories of the Urals and Western Siberia, Manchuria and Mongolia, Central Europe, as well as Australia and North America. Today they are represented by very low blocky massifs. Animals of the Paleozoic era are reptiles and amphibians, the seas and oceans are inhabited by fish. Among the flora, algae predominated. The Paleozoic era is characterized by large deposits of coal and oil, which arose precisely in this era.
middle stage
The beginning of the Mesozoic era is characterized by a period of relative calm and the gradual destruction of the mountain systems created earlier, the submersion of flat territories (part of Western Siberia) under water. The second half of this period was marked by the formation of Mesozoic folding ridges. Very vast mountainous countries appeared, which today have the same appearance. Mountains are an example. Eastern Siberia, Cordillera, parts of Indochina and Tibet. The ground was densely covered with lush vegetation, which gradually died off and rotted away. Thanks to hot and humid climate there was an active formation of peat bogs and swamps. It was the era of giant lizards - dinosaurs. The inhabitants of the Mesozoic era (herbivores and predatory animals) spread throughout the entire planet. At the same time, the first mammals appear.
New stage
The Cenozoic era, which replaced the middle stage, continues to this day. The beginning of this period was marked by an increase in the activity of the internal forces of the planet, which led to a general uplift of huge areas of land. This era is characterized by the emergence of mountain ranges within the Alpine-Himalayan belt. During this period, the Eurasian continent acquired its modern shape. In addition, there was a significant rejuvenation of the ancient massifs of the Urals, Tien Shan, Appalachians and Altai. The climate on Earth changed dramatically, periods of powerful ice cover began. The movements of glacial masses changed the relief of the continents. As a result, hilly plains with a huge number of lakes were formed. Animals of the Cenozoic era are mammals, reptiles and amphibians, many representatives of the initial periods have survived to this day, others have died out (mammoths, woolly rhinos, saber-toothed tigers, cave bears and others) for one reason or another.
What is a geologic period?
The geological stage as a unit of our planet is usually divided into periods. Let's see what the encyclopedia says about this term. Period (geological) is a large interval of geological time during which rocks were formed. In turn, it is subdivided into smaller units, which are commonly called epochs.
The first stages (Archaean and Proterozoic), due to the complete absence or insignificant amount of animal and vegetable deposits in them, are not usually divided into additional sections. The Paleozoic era includes the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods. This stage is characterized by the largest number of subintervals, the rest were limited to only three. The Mesozoic era includes the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous stages. The Cenozoic era, the periods of which are most studied, is represented by the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary subinterval. Let's take a closer look at some of them.
Triassic
The Triassic period is the first subinterval of the Mesozoic era. Its duration was about 50 million years (beginning - 251-199 million years ago). It is characterized by the renewal of marine and terrestrial fauna. At the same time, a few representatives of the Paleozoic continue to exist, such as spiriferids, tabulata, some laminabranchs, and others. Among the invertebrates, ammonites are very numerous, giving rise to many new forms important for stratigraphy. Among corals, six-rayed forms predominate, among brachiopods - terebratulids and rhynchonelids, in the group of echinoderms - sea urchins. Vertebrate animals are mainly represented by reptiles - large lizard dinosaurs. Thecodonts are widespread land reptiles. In addition, the first large inhabitants of the aquatic environment, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, appear in the Triassic period, but they reach their peak only in the Jurassic period. Also at this time, the first mammals arose, which were represented by small forms.
Flora in the Triassic period (geological) loses elements of the Paleozoic and acquires an exclusively Mesozoic composition. Fern species of plants, sago-like, coniferous and ginkgoales predominate here. Climatic conditions characterized by significant warming. This leads to the drying up of many inland seas, and in the remaining seas the level of salinity increases significantly. In addition, the areas of inland water bodies are greatly reduced, resulting in the development of desert landscapes. For example, the Tauride formation of the Crimean peninsula belongs to this period.
Yura
The Jurassic period got its name from the Jura Mountains in Western Europe. It constitutes the middle part of the Mesozoic and most closely reflects the main features of the development of the organics of this era. In turn, it is usually divided into three sections: lower, middle and upper.
The fauna of this period is represented by widely distributed invertebrates - cephalopods (ammonites, represented by numerous species and genera). They sharply differ from representatives of the Triassic in sculpture and character of shells. In addition, in the Jurassic period, another group of mollusks, the belemnites, flourished. At this time, six-ray reef-forming corals, lilies and urchins, as well as numerous lamellar gills, reach significant development. On the other hand, species of the Paleozoic brachiopod completely disappear. The marine fauna of vertebrate species is significantly different from the Triassic, it reaches an enormous diversity. In the Jurassic period, fish are widely developed, as well as aquatic reptiles - ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. At this time, there is a transition from land and adaptation to the marine environment of crocodiles and turtles. A huge variety is achieved by various types of terrestrial vertebrates - reptiles. Among them, dinosaurs come to their heyday, which are represented by herbivores, carnivores and other forms. Most of them reach 23 meters in length, for example, diplodocus. The deposits of this period contain the new kind reptiles - flying lizards, which are called "pterodactyls". At the same time, the first birds appear. The flora of the Jura reaches a luxuriant flowering: gymnosperms, ginkgos, cycads, conifers (araucaria), bennettites, cycads and, of course, ferns, horsetails and club mosses.
Neogene
The Neogene period is the second period of the Cenozoic era. It began 25 million years ago and ended 1.8 million years ago. Significant changes in the composition of the fauna took place at this time. A wide variety of gastropods and bivalves, corals, foraminifers, and coccolithophores emerge. Amphibians have been widely developed sea turtles and bony fish. In the Neogene period, terrestrial vertebrate forms also reach great diversity. For example, rapidly progressing hipparion species appeared: hipparions, horses, rhinos, antelopes, camels, proboscis, deer, hippos, giraffes, rodents, saber-toothed tigers, hyenas, apes and others.
Under the influence of various factors, the organic world rapidly evolves at this time: forest-steppes, taiga, mountain and flat steppes appear. In tropical areas - savannahs and wet forests. Climatic conditions are approaching modern ones.
Geology as a science
The geological periods of the Earth are studied by science - geology. It appeared relatively recently - at the beginning of the 20th century. However, despite her youth, she was able to shed light on many controversial issues about the formation of our planet, as well as the origin of the creatures inhabiting it. There are few hypotheses in this science, mainly only the results of observations and facts are used. There is no doubt that the traces of the development of the planet stored in the earth's layers will in any case give a more accurate picture of the past than any written book. However, not everyone is able to read these facts and understand them correctly, therefore, even in this exact science, erroneous interpretations of certain events can occur from time to time. Where traces of fire are present, it is safe to say that there was fire; and where there are traces of water, with the same certainty it can be argued that there was water, and so on. And yet, mistakes also happen. In order not to be unfounded, consider one such example.
"Frost patterns on glass"
In 1973, the journal "Knowledge is Power" published an article by the famous biologist A. A. Lyubimtsev "Frost patterns on glass." In it, the author draws the attention of readers to the striking similarity of ice patterns with plant structures. As an experiment, he photographed a pattern on glass and showed the photo to a botanist he knew. And without slowing down, he recognized the petrified footprint of a thistle in the picture. From the point of view of chemistry, these patterns arise due to the gas-phase crystallization of water vapor. However, something similar occurs in the production of pyrolytic graphite by pyrolysis of methane diluted with hydrogen. Thus, it was found that dendritic forms are formed away from this flow, which are very similar to plant remains. This is explained by the fact that there are general laws that govern the formation of forms in inorganic matter and wildlife.
For a long time, geologists have dated each geologic period based on traces of plant and animal forms found in coal deposits. And just a few years ago, there were statements by some scientists that this method was wrong and that all the fossils found were nothing more than a by-product of the formation of the earth's layers. There is no doubt that everything cannot be measured in the same way, but it is necessary to approach dating issues more carefully.
Was there a global glaciation?
Let's consider one more categorical statement of scientists, and not only geologists. All of us, starting from school, were taught about the global glaciation that covered our planet, as a result of which many animal species became extinct: mammoths, woolly rhinos and many others. And the modern younger generation is brought up on the quadrology "Ice Age". Scientists unanimously argue that geology is an exact science that does not allow theories, but uses only verified facts. However, this is not the case. Here, as in many areas of science (history, archeology, and others), one can observe the rigidity of theories and the steadfastness of authorities. For example, since the end of the nineteenth century, in the margins of science, there have been heated debates about whether there was a glaciation or not. In the middle of the twentieth century, the famous geologist I. G. Pidoplichko published a four-volume work “On ice age". In this work, the author gradually proves the inconsistency of the version of global glaciation. He relies not on the works of other scientists, but on the geological excavations he personally carried out (moreover, he carried out some of them, being a soldier of the Red Army, participating in battles against the German invaders) throughout the territory Soviet Union and Western Europe. He proves that the glacier could not cover the entire continent, but was only local in nature, and that it did not cause the extinction of many animal species, but completely different factors - these are catastrophic events that led to the pole shift (“Sensational History of the Earth”, A . Sklyarov); and economic activity the person himself.
Mysticism, or Why scientists do not notice the obvious
Despite the irrefutable evidence provided by Pidoplichko, scientists are in no hurry to abandon the accepted version of glaciation. And then even more interesting. The author's works were published in the early 1950s, but with the death of Stalin, all copies of the four-volume edition were confiscated from the libraries and universities of the country, were preserved only in the library vaults, and it is not easy to get them from there. AT Soviet time everyone who wanted to borrow this book from the library was registered by the special services. And even today there are certain problems in obtaining this printed edition. However, thanks to the Internet, anyone can get acquainted with the works of the author, who analyzes in detail the periods of the geological history of the planet, explains the origin of certain traces.
Geology - an exact science?
It is believed that geology is an exceptionally experimental science, which draws conclusions only from what it sees. If the case is doubtful, then she does not state anything, expresses an opinion that allows for discussion, and postpones the final decision until unambiguous observations are obtained. However, as practice shows, the exact sciences are also wrong (for example, physics or mathematics). Nevertheless, mistakes are not a disaster if they are accepted and corrected in time. Often they are not global in nature, but have local significance, you just need to have the courage to accept the obvious, draw the right conclusions and move on towards new discoveries. Modern scientists show a radically opposite behavior, because most of the luminaries of science at one time received titles, awards and recognition for their work, and today they do not want to part with them at all. And such behavior is noticed not only in geology, but also in other fields of activity. Only strong people they are not afraid to admit their mistakes, they rejoice at the opportunity to develop further, because the discovery of an error is not a disaster, but, on the contrary, a new opportunity.
Jurassic period (Jurassic)- the middle (second) period of the Mesozoic era. It began 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma ago and ended 145.0 Ma ago. It continued in this way for about 56 million years. The complex of deposits (rocks) corresponding to a given age is called the Jurassic system. AT different regions planets, these deposits differ in composition, genesis, appearance.
For the first time deposits of this period were described in the Jura (mountains in Switzerland and France); hence the name of the period. The deposits of that time are quite diverse: limestones, clastic rocks, shales, igneous rocks, clays, sands, conglomerates formed in a variety of conditions.
Flora
In the Jurassic, vast territories were covered with lush vegetation, primarily with various forests. They mainly consisted of ferns and gymnosperms.
Cycads - a class of gymnosperms that prevailed in the green cover of the Earth. Now they are found in the tropics and subtropics. Dinosaurs roamed under the shade of these trees. Outwardly, cycads are so similar to low (up to 10-18 m) palm trees that even Carl Linnaeus placed them in his system of plants among palm trees.
In the Jurassic period, groves of gingko trees grew throughout the then temperate zone. Ginkgoes are deciduous (unusually for gymnosperms) trees with an oak-like crown and small, fan-shaped leaves. Only one species has survived to this day - ginkgo biloba.
Very diverse were conifers, similar to modern pines and cypresses, which flourished at that time not only in the tropics, but had already mastered the temperate zone. The ferns gradually disappeared.
Fauna
marine organisms
Compared with the Triassic, the population of the seabed has changed a lot. Bivalves displace brachiopods from shallow waters. Brachiopod shells are replaced by oysters. Bivalve molluscs fill all the vital niches of the seabed. Many stop collecting food from the ground and move on to pumping water with the help of gills. A new type of reef communities is emerging, approximately the same as it exists now. It is based on six-ray corals that appeared in the Triassic.
Land animals of the Jurassic period
One of the fossil creatures that combine the features of birds and reptiles is Archeopteryx, or the first bird. For the first time, his skeleton was discovered in the so-called lithographic slates in Germany. The discovery was made two years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and became a strong argument in favor of the theory of evolution. Archeopteryx flew quite badly (planned from tree to tree), and was about the size of a crow. Instead of a beak, it had a pair of toothy, albeit weak jaws. It had free fingers on its wings (of modern birds, they were preserved only in hoatzin chicks).
In the Jurassic period, small, woolly warm-blooded animals - mammals - live on Earth. They live next to dinosaurs and are almost invisible against their background. In the Jura there was a division of mammals into monotremes, marsupials and placentals.
Dinosaurs (English Dinosauria, from other Greek δεινός - terrible, terrible, dangerous and σαύρα - lizard, lizard) lived in forests, lakes, swamps. The range of differences between them is so great that family ties between them are established with great difficulty. There were dinosaurs ranging in size from a cat to a whale. Different types dinosaurs could walk on two or four limbs. Among them were both predators and herbivores.
Scale
| Geological scale | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeon | Era | Period | |
| F a n e R about h about th | Cenozoic | Quaternary | |
| Neogene | |||
| Paleogene | |||
| Mesozoic | Chalk | ||
| Yura | |||
| Triassic | |||
| Paleozoic | Permian | ||
| Carbon | |||
| Devonian | |||
| Silurus | |||
| Ordovician | |||
| Cambrian | |||
| D about to e m b R and th | P R about t e R about h about th | Neo- Proterozoic | Ediacaran |
| cryogeny | |||
| Tony | |||
| Meso- Proterozoic | Stenius | ||
| Ectasia | |||
| potassium | |||
| Paleo- Proterozoic | Statery | ||
| Orosirium | |||
| Riasius | |||
| siderius | |||
| BUT R X e th | neoarchean | ||
| Mesoarchean | |||
| paleoarchaean | |||
| Eoarchean | |||
| catarchean | |||
Jurassic subdivision
The Jurassic system is subdivided into 3 divisions and 11 tiers:
| system | Department | tier | Age, million years ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalk | Lower | Berriasian | less | |
| Jurassic period | Upper (malm) | titonian | 145,0-152,1 | |
| Kimmeridge | 152,1-157,3 | |||
| Oxford | 157,3-163,5 | |||
| Medium (dogger) | Callovian | 163,5-166,1 | ||
| Bath | 166,1-168,3 | |||
| Bayosian | 168,3-170,3 | |||
| Aalen | 170,3-174,1 | |||
| Lower (lias) | Toarian | 174,1-182,7 | ||
| Plinsbachsky | 182,7-190,8 | |||
| Sinemursky | 190,8-199,3 | |||
| Goettansky | 199,3-201,3 | |||
| Triassic | Upper | Rhetic | more | |
| Subsections are given in accordance with IUGS as of January 2013 | ||||
Rostras of belemnites Acrofeuthis sp. Early Cretaceous, Hauterivian
Brachiopod shells Kabanoviella sp. Early Cretaceous, Hauterivian
Bivalve shell Inoceramus aucella Trautschold, Early Cretaceous, Hauterivian
Skeleton of a saltwater crocodile Stenosaurus, Steneosaurus boltensis Jaeger. Early Jurassic, Germany, Holzmaden. Among the saltwater crocodiles, the talattosuchian stenosaurus was the least specialized form. He had developed not flippers, but ordinary five-fingered limbs, like in land animals, although somewhat shortened. In addition, a powerful bone shell made of plates has been preserved on the back and belly.
Three of the specimens displayed on the wall (crocodile stenosaurus and two ichthyosaurs - stenopterygium and eurhinosaurus) were found at one of the world's largest localities of the early Jurassic marine fauna HOLTSMADEN (about 200 million years ago; Bavaria, Germany). For several centuries, the development of shale was carried out here, which was used as a building and decorative material.
At the same time, a huge number of remains of invertebrate fish, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and crocodiles were discovered. More than 300 ichthyosaur skeletons alone have been recovered.
Small flying lizards - sordes were numerous in the vicinity of Lake Karatau. They probably fed on fish and insects. On some specimens of sordes, remnants of the hairline have been preserved, which is extremely rare in other localities.
Thecodonts- prenova group for other archosaurs. The first representatives (1,2) were terrestrial predators with widely spaced limbs. In the process of evolution, some thecodonts acquired a semi-vertical and vertical position of their paws with a quadrupedal mode of movement (3,5,6), others - in parallel with the development of bipedality (2,7,8). Most thecodonts were terrestrial, but some of them were amphibious (6).
crocodiles close to thecodonts. Early crocodiles (1,2,9) were terrestrial animals, marine forms with flippers and a tail fin also existed in the Mesozoic (10), and modern crocodiles are adapted to an amphibious lifestyle (11).
Dinosaurs- the central and most striking group of archosaurs. Large predatory carnosaurs (14,15) and small predatory cepurosaurs (16,17,18), as well as herbivorous ornithopods (19,20,21,22) were bipedal. Others used quadrupedal locomotion: sauropods (12,13), ceratopsians (23), stegosaurs (24) and antiposaurs (25). Sauropods and duck-billed dinosaurs (21) have, to varying degrees, adopted an amphibious way of life. One of the most highly organized among the archosaurs were flying pangolins (26,27,28), which had wings with a flying membrane, hair, and, possibly, a constant body temperature.
Birds- are considered direct descendants of the Mesozoic archosaurs.
Small land crocodiles, united in the Notosuchia group, were widespread in Africa and South America during the Cretaceous period.
Part of the skull of a sea lizard - pliosaurus. Pliosaurus cf. grandis Owen, Late Jurassic, Volga region. Pliosaurs, as well as their closest relatives - plesiosaurs, were perfectly adapted to aquatic environment. They were distinguished by a large head, a short neck and long, powerful flipper-like limbs. Most of the pliosaurs had dagger-like teeth, and they were the most dangerous predators of the seas of the Jurassic period. This sample, 70 cm long, is only the front third of the pliosaurus skull, and the total length of the animal was 11-13 m. The pliosaurus lived 150-147 million years ago.
Larva of the Coptoclava beetle, Coptoclava longipoda Ping. This is one of the most dangerous predators In the lake.
Apparently, in the middle of the Cretaceous, the conditions in the lakes changed dramatically and many invertebrates had to go to rivers, streams, or temporary reservoirs (caddis flies, whose larvae build tube houses from grains of sand; Bottom sediments of these reservoirs are not preserved, flowing waters wash them away, destroying the remains of animals and plants. Organisms that migrated to such habitats disappear from the fossil record.
Houses of grains of sand, which were built and carried by caddisfly larvae, are very characteristic of the Early Cretaceous lakes. In later eras, such houses are found mainly in flowing waters.
Larvae of the caddisfly Terrindusia (reconstruction)
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160 million years ago rich vegetable world provided food for the giant sauropods that had arisen by this time, and also provided shelter for a huge number of small mammals and pangolins. Conifers, ferns, horsetails, tree ferns and cycads were widespread at this time.
A hallmark of the Jurassic was the rise and rise of giant sauropod herbivorous dinosaurs, the largest land animals that ever lived. Despite their size, these dinosaurs were quite numerous.Their fossilized remains are found on all continents (with the exception of Antarctica) in rocks from the early Jurassic to the late Cretaceous, although they were most common in the second half of the Jurassic. At the same time, sauropods reach their largest size. They survived until the late Cretaceous, when the huge hadrosaurs ("duck-billed dinosaurs") began to dominate among terrestrial herbivores.
Outwardly, all sauropods looked similar to each other: with an extremely long neck, an even longer tail, a massive but relatively short body, four columnar legs and a relatively small head. In different species, only the position of the body and the proportions of individual parts could change. For example, sauropods of the late Jurassic period, such as brachiosaurs (Brachiosaurus - “shouldered lizard”), were taller in the shoulder girdle than in the pelvic girdle, while contemporary diplodocus (Diplodocus - “double process”) were significantly lower, and at the same time their hips towered over their shoulders. In some species of sauropods, such as the Camarasaurus (Camarasaurus - "chamber lizard"), the neck was relatively short, only slightly longer than the body, while in others, such as diplodocus, it was more than twice as long as the body.
Teeth and diet
The superficial resemblance of sauropods masks the surprisingly wide variety of their tooth structure and hence feeding methods.
The diplodocus skull has helped paleontologists understand the dinosaur's way of feeding. The abrasion of the teeth indicates that he tore off the leaves either from below or from above himself.
Many books on dinosaurs used to mention the "small, thin teeth" of sauropods, but it is now known that the teeth of some of them, such as Camarasaurus, were massive and strong enough to grind even very hard plant foods, while the long and thin ones, the pencil-like teeth of Diplodocus do indeed seem unable to withstand the considerable stress that comes from chewing hard plants.
diplodocus (Diplodocus). The long neck allowed him to "comb" food from the highest coniferous plants. It is believed that diplodocus lived in small herds and fed on tree shoots.
In the study of the teeth of diplodocus, carried out in last years in England, an unusual wear of their side surfaces was discovered. This pattern of tooth abrasion gave clues to how these huge animals could have eaten. The side surface of the teeth could wear out only if something moved between them. Apparently, diplodocus used its teeth to tear apart bundles of leaves and shoots, acting as a comb, while its lower jaw could move slightly back and forth. Most likely, when the animal divided into strips of plants captured below, moving its head up and back, the lower jaw was shifted back (the upper teeth were located in front of the lower ones), and when it pulled the branches of tall trees located at the top down and back, it pushed the lower jaw forward (the lower teeth were in front of the upper ones).
Brachiosaurus probably used its shorter, slightly pointed teeth to pluck only high-lying leaves and shoots, since its vertical body orientation, due to its longer front legs, made it difficult to feed on plants growing low above the soil.
Narrow specialization
Camarasaurus, somewhat smaller than the giants mentioned above, had a relatively short and thicker neck and most likely fed on leaves located at an intermediate height between the nutritional levels of brachiosaurs and diplodocus. It had a tall, rounded and more massive skull compared to other sauropods, as well as a more massive and durable lower jaw, which indicates a better ability to grind solid plant food.The details of the anatomical structure of sauropods described above show that within the same ecological system (in the forests covering most of the land at that time), sauropods fed on various plant foods, obtaining it in different ways at different levels. This division by feeding strategy and type of food, which can still be seen in herbivore communities today, has been called "tropical sectioning."
Brachiosaurus (Brachiosaurus) reached more than 25 m in length and 13 m in height. Their fossilized remains and fossilized eggs are found in East Africa and North America. They probably lived in herds like modern elephants.
The main difference between today's herbivore ecosystems and the sauropod-dominated ecosystems of the Late Jurassic is only the mass and height of the animals. None of the modern herbivores, including elephants and giraffes, reach a height comparable to that of most large sauropods, and none of the modern land animals requires such a huge amount of food as these giants.
Other end of the scale
Some sauropods that lived in the Jurassic reached fantastic sizes, for example, the supersaurus resembling a brachiosaurus (Supersaurus), whose remains were found in the USA (Colorado), probably weighed about 130 tons, that is, it was many times larger than a large male African elephant. But these supergiants shared the land with tiny creatures hiding underground that did not belong to dinosaurs or even reptiles. The Jurassic period was the time of the existence of many numerous ancient mammals. These small, fur-covered, viviparous, and milk-feeding warm-blooded animals are called multi-lumpy because of the unusual structure of their molars: numerous, fused together cylindrical "tubercles" form uneven surfaces, perfectly adapted to grinding plant foods.The polytuberculates were the largest and most diverse group of mammals in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. These are the only omnivorous mammals of the Mesozoic era (the rest were specialized insectivores or carnivores). They are known from Late Jurassic deposits, but recent finds show that they are close to a little-known group of extremely ancient mammals of the Late Triassic, the so-called. haramiids.
In the structure of the skull and teeth, the multituberculates were very reminiscent of today's rodents, they had two pairs of protruding incisors, giving them the appearance of a typical rodent. Behind the incisors was a toothless gap, followed by molars to the very end of the small jaws. However, the teeth closest to the incisors had an unusual structure. In fact, these were the first false-rooted (premolar) teeth with curved sawtooth edges.
Such an unusual structure of teeth in the process of evolution re-emerged in some of the modern marsupials, for example, in rat kangaroos in Australia, whose teeth are of the same shape and are located in the same place in the jaw as the pseudo-rooted teeth of polytuberculates. When chewing food at the moment of jaw closure, multituberculates could shift the lower jaw back, moving these sharp sawtooth teeth across food fibers, and long incisors could be used to pierce dense plants or hard external skeletons of insects.
Lizard-hipped megalosaurus (Megalosaurus) and its cubs, overtaking the ornithischian Scelidosaurus (Scelidosaurus). Scelidosaurus is an ancient species of dinosaurs of the Jurassic period with unevenly developed limbs, reaching 4 m in length. Its dorsal shell helped protect against predators.
The combination of sharp front incisors, serrated blades, and chewing teeth means that the feeding apparatus of the multituberculates was quite versatile. Today's rodents are also a very successful group of animals, thriving in a wide variety of ecological systems and habitats. Most likely, it was the highly developed dental apparatus, which allows them to eat various foods, that became the reason for the evolutionary success of the multituberculates. Their fossilized remains, found on most continents, belong to various species: some of them, apparently, lived in trees, while others, resembling modern gerbils, were probably adapted to existence in an arid desert climate.
Ecosystem change
The existence of multituberculates covers a period of 215 million years, stretching from the Late Triassic through the entire mesozoic era to the Oligocene era of the Cenozoic era. This phenomenal success, unique to mammals and most terrestrial tetrapods, makes the polytuberculates the most successful group of mammals.The ecosystems of small animals of the Jurassic also included small lizards of various species and even their aquatic forms.
Thrinadoxon (cynodont species). Its limbs protruded slightly to the sides, and were not located under the body, as in modern mammals.
They and the rare reptiles of the synapsid group (“animal reptiles”), the tritylodonts, who survived to this time, lived at the same time and in the same ecosystems as the multi-tuberous mammals. Tritylodonts were numerous and widespread throughout the Triassic but, like other cynodonts, suffered greatly during the Late Triassic extinction. This is the only group of cynodonts that survived from the Jurassic. In appearance, they, like multi-tuberous mammals, very much resembled modern rodents. That is, a significant part of the ecosystems of small animals of the Jurassic period consisted of animals resembling rodents: trilodonts and multituberous mammals.
The multitubercular mammals were by far the most numerous and diverse group of mammals of the Jurassic period, but other groups of mammals also existed at this time, including: tinodontids) and docodonts (docodonts). All these small mammals looked like mice or shrews. Docodonts, for example, developed distinctive, wide molars well suited for chewing hard seeds and nuts.
At the end of the Jurassic, significant changes occurred at the other end of the size scale in a group of large bipeds. predatory dinosaurs, theropods, represented at this time by allosaurs (AUosaurus - "strange lizards"). At the end of the Jurassic, a group of theropods became isolated, called spinosaurids (“spiny or spiked lizards”), whose distinguishing feature was a crest of long processes of the trunk vertebrae, which, perhaps, like the dorsal sail in some pelycosaurs, helped them regulate body temperature. Such spinosaurids as Siamosaurus ("lizard from Siam"), whose length reached 12 m, together with other theropods, shared the niche of the largest predators in the ecosystems of that time.
Spinosaurids had non-serrated teeth and elongated, less massive skulls compared to other theropods of that time. These structural features indicate that they differed in their way of feeding from theropods such as allosaurs, Eustreptospondylus ("strongly curved vertebrae") and ceratosaurus (Ceratosaurus - "horned lizard"), and most likely hunted other prey.
bird-like dinosaurs
In the late Jurassic, other types of theropods arose, very different from such huge, weighing up to 4 tons, predators, like allosaurs. They were ornithominids - long-legged, long-necked, small-headed, toothless omnivores strikingly reminiscent of modern ostriches, which is why they got their name "bird mimics".The very first ornithominid, Elaphrosaums ("light lizard"), from the Late Jurassic of North America, had light, hollow bones and a toothless beak, and its limbs, both hind and fore, were shorter than those of later Cretaceous ornithominids, and, accordingly, it was a slower animal.
Another ecologically important group of dinosaurs that arose in the late Jurassic are the nodosaurs, four-legged dinosaurs with massive, armored bodies, short, relatively thin limbs, a narrow head with an elongated snout (but with massive jaws), small leaf-shaped teeth, and a horny beak. Their name (“knobby lizards”) is associated with bone plates covering the skin, protruding processes of the vertebrae and growths scattered over the skin, which served as protection from predator attacks. Nodosaurs became widespread only in the Cretaceous, and in the Late Jurassic, they, along with huge tree-eating sauropods, were only one element of the herbivorous dinosaur community that served as prey for a number of huge predators.
, conglomerates formed in a variety of conditions.
Jurassic subdivision
The Jurassic system is subdivided into 3 divisions and 11 tiers:
| system | Department | tier | Age, million years ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalk | Lower | Berriasian | less | |
| Yura | Upper (malm) |
titonian | 152,1-145,0 | |
| Kimmeridge | 157,3-152,1 | |||
| Oxford | 163,5-157,3 | |||
| Medium (dogger) |
Callovian | 166,1-163,5 | ||
| Bath | 168,3-166,1 | |||
| Bayosian | 170,3-168,3 | |||
| Aalen | 174,1-170,3 | |||
| Lower (lias) |
Toarian | 182,7-174,1 | ||
| Plinsbachsky | 190,8-182,7 | |||
| Sinemursky | 199,3-190,8 | |||
| Goettansky | 201,3-199,3 | |||
| Triassic | Upper | Rhetic | more | |
| The division is given in accordance with IUGS as of April 2016 | ||||
Geological events
213-145 million years ago, the single supercontinent Pangea began to break up into separate continental blocks. Shallow seas formed between them.
Climate
The climate in the Jurassic period was humid and warm (and by the end of the period - arid in the equator).
Vegetation
In the Jurassic, vast areas were covered with lush vegetation, primarily a variety of forests. They mainly consisted of ferns and gymnosperms.
land animals
One of the fossil creatures that combine the features of birds and reptiles is Archeopteryx, or the first bird. For the first time, his skeleton was discovered in the so-called lithographic slates in Germany. The find was made two years after the publication of Charles Darwin's work " The Origin of Species" and became a strong argument in favor of the theory of evolution - it was initially considered a transitional form from reptiles to birds (in fact, it was a dead-end branch of evolution that was not directly related to real birds) . Archeopteryx flew rather poorly (planned from tree to tree), and was about the size of a crow. Instead of a beak, it had a pair of toothy, albeit weak jaws. It had free fingers on its wings (of modern birds, they were preserved only in hoatzin chicks).
In the Jurassic period, small, woolly warm-blooded animals live on Earth - mammals. They live next to dinosaurs and are almost invisible against their background. In the Jurassic, the division of mammals into monotremes, marsupials, and placentals took place.
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Notes
Literature
- Jordan N. N. development of life on earth. - M .: Enlightenment, 1981.
- Karakash N.I.,. Jurassic system and period // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- Koronovsky N.V., Khain V.E., Yasamanov N.A. Historical Geology: Textbook. - M .: Academy, 2006.
- Ushakov S.A., Yasamanov N.A. Continental drift and climates of the Earth. - M .: Thought, 1984.
- Yasamanov N.A. Ancient climates of the Earth. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1985.
- Yasamanov N.A. Popular paleogeography. - M .: Thought, 1985.
Links
- - A site about the Jurassic period, a big library paleontological books and articles.
| ← | P a l e about h about th |
Mesozoic (252.2-66.0 Ma) | To a th n about h about th |
→ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← | Triassic (252,2-201,3) |
Jurassic period (201,3-145,0) |
Cretaceous period (145,0-66,0) |
→ | ||
An excerpt characterizing the Jurassic period
The trees stood naked and featureless, lazily moving their drooping, thorny branches. Farther behind them stretched a bleak, burnt-out steppe, lost in the distance behind a wall of dirty, gray fog... True, it did not cause the slightest pleasure to make one want to look at it ... The whole landscape evoked horror and longing, seasoned with hopelessness ...- Oh, how scary it is here ... - Stella whispered, shivering. – No matter how many times I come here, I just can’t get used to it... How do these poor things live here?!
- Well, probably, these "poor things" were too guilty once if they ended up here. After all, no one sent them here - they just got what they deserved, right? Still not giving up, I said.
“Now look…” Stella whispered mysteriously.
Before us suddenly appeared a cave overgrown with grayish greenery. And out of it, squinting, stepped out a tall, stately man who in no way fit into this miserable, chilling landscape ...
- Hello, Sad! Stella greeted the stranger affectionately. - I brought a friend! She does not believe that good people can be found here. And I wanted to show you to her... You don't mind, do you?
- Hello, dear... - the man answered sadly, - Yes, I'm not so good to show me to someone. You are right...
Oddly enough, but this sad man I really liked something right away. He exuded strength and warmth, and it was very pleasant to be near him. In any case, he did not in any way resemble those weak-willed, heartbroken people who surrendered to the mercy of fate with whom this “floor” was packed.
“Tell us your story, sad person…” Stella asked with a light smile.
“Yes, there is nothing to tell there, and there is nothing special to be proud of ...” the stranger shook his head. - And what do you need it for?
For some reason, I felt very sorry for him... Even without knowing anything about him, I was already almost sure that this person could not have done something really bad. Well, I just couldn’t!.. Stella, smiling, followed my thoughts, which she apparently liked very much ...
- Well, okay, I agree - you're right! .. - Seeing her satisfied face, I finally honestly admitted.
“But you don’t know anything about him yet, and everything is not so simple with him,” Stella said with a sly smile. “Well, please tell her, Sad…”
The man smiled sadly at us, and quietly said:
- I'm here because I killed ... I killed many. But not by desire, but by need, it was ...
I was immediately terribly upset - I killed! .. And I, stupid, believed! .. But for some reason I stubbornly did not have the slightest feeling of rejection or hostility. I obviously liked the person, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do anything about it ...
“Is it the same fault to kill at will or out of necessity?” I asked. Sometimes people don't have a choice, do they? For example: when they have to defend themselves or protect others. I have always admired heroes – warriors, knights. In general, I have always adored the latter ... Is it possible to compare simple murderers with them?
He looked at me for a long time and sadly, and then also quietly answered:
“I don’t know, dear... The fact that I’m here says that the guilt is the same... But from the way I feel this guilt in my heart, then no... I never wanted to kill, I just I defended my land, I was a hero there... But here it turned out that I was just killing... Is that right? I think no...
So you were a warrior? I asked hopefully. - But then, it's a big difference - you defended your home, your family, your children! And you don't look like a killer!
– Well, we are all different from what others see us... Because they only see what they want to see... or only what we want to show them... As for the war, I also first just as you thought, even proud ... But here it turned out that there was nothing to be proud of. Murder is murder, and it doesn't matter how it happened.
– But this is not right! .. – I was indignant. - What then happens - a maniac-killer turns out to be the same as a hero?! .. This simply cannot be, this should not be!
Everything in me was raging with indignation! And the man sadly looked at me with his sad, gray eyes in which understanding was read ...
“A hero and a murderer take life in the same way. Only, probably, there are “extenuating circumstances”, since a person who protects someone, even if he takes his life, is for a bright and righteous reason. But, one way or another, they both have to pay for it ... And it's very bitter to pay, you believe me ...
- And can I ask you - how long have you lived? I asked, a little embarrassed.
– Oh, quite a long time ago... This is the second time I've been here... For some reason, my two lives were similar - in both I fought for someone... Well, and then I paid... And it's always just as bitter ... - the stranger was silent for a long time, as if not wanting to talk about it anymore, but then he continued quietly. There are people who love to fight. I've always hated it. But for some reason, life brings me back to the same circle for the second time, as if I was locked in this, not allowing me to free myself... When I lived, all our peoples fought among themselves... Some captured foreign lands - others the lands were protected. Sons overthrew their fathers, brothers killed their brothers... Everything happened. Someone accomplished unthinkable feats, someone betrayed someone, and someone turned out to be just a coward. But none of them even suspected how bitter the payment for everything they did in that life would be ...
- Did you have a family there? to change the subject, I asked. - Were there children?
- Of course! But that was already so long ago!.. They once became great-grandfathers, then died... And some are already living again. That was a long time ago...
– And you are still here?!.. – I whispered, looking around in horror.
I could not even imagine that he had existed here like this for many, many years, suffering and "paying" his guilt, without any hope of leaving this terrifying "floor" even before his hour of return to the physical came. Earth! .. And there he will again have to start all over again, so that after, when his next “physical” life ends, he will return (perhaps right here!) With a whole new “baggage”, good or bad, depending on how he will live his “next” earthly life... And he could not have any hope to free himself from this vicious circle (whether it be good or bad), since, having begun his earthly life, each person “dooms” himself to this endless, an eternal circular "journey"... And, depending on his actions, returning to the "floors" can be very pleasant, or very scary...
