This timeline briefly recaps the events in the Age of Dinosaurs, known as the Mesozoic Era, from the beginning through to the mass Extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
Age Of Dinosaurs
Around 252 MYA (Million Years Ago)
The Permian Extinction
The Permian Extinction
The Greatest mass extinction event on life kills around 95% of the world’s species. The Permian Extinction (colloquially known as the “Great Dying”) forms the basis for dinosaurs to eventually rise up and dominate Earth.
252 MYA
The Triassic Period begins
The Triassic Period begins
One large super-continent known as Pangaea is the singular land mass on Earth. A distinct lack of biodiversity with the fauna allows reptiles known as dinosaurs to first evolve. Given their kidneys are better at conserving water, they’re perfectly built for the climate. The first dinos are small, nimble creatures.
201 MYA
The Triassic Period ends
The Triassic Period ends
During this period of time, big changes are afoot. A series of earthquakes and massive volcanic eruptions sees Pangaea slowly begin to break into two, forming what will later become known as our North Atlantic Ocean.
201 MYA
The Jurassic Period begins
The Jurassic Period begins
During this period of time, the super-continent of Pangea splits apart completely, while another mass extinction period sees many large land animals all but wiped out. The dinosaurs are not among them. The different climates starting to spring up from the landmasses breaking apart allows dinosaurs to evolve into a wide variety of different forms, including the birth of huge sauropods.
145 MYA
The Jurassic Period ends
Toward the end of this period, the land is separated further into some of the continents we can see on maps today, albeit in different positions across the globe.
145 MYA
The Cretaceous Period begins
Dinosaurs evolve independently in different parts of the world. The first snakes pop up during this time, as well as flowering plants. Insect groups including bees arrive to help spread pollen.
65.5 MYA
The Cretaceous Period ends
After a long span as the dominant lifeforms on Earth, the Dinosaurs are completely wiped out by a giant asteroid smashing into Earth with a force the equivalent of setting off 180 trillion tons of TNT at once. Deprived of water and sunlight, a chain of events sees the flora and fauna die, starving the herbivores, which in turn wipes out the carnivores.
Published Nov 19th 2022 @ 10:35 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for The Age of Dinosaurs Timeline:
Greg Wheeler (2022). The Age of Dinosaurs Timeline https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/historyataglance-briefdinosaurs-timeline