The Mesozoic Era is one of the so-called Geological Ages , periods of millions of years well differentiated from each other, in which planet Earth has harbored certain very characteristic forms of life. The name of this Era, “Mesozoic”, comes from the Greek roots meso “media” and zoe “life”. Etymologically, it can be called “The era of middle life.” It is estimated that it began 250 million years ago and ended 65 million years ago .
The Mesozoic Era is also known as the Secondary Era , or the Age of the dinosaurs . During these years the Earth had a climate particularly hot and humid , favoring the growth of plants and therefore the development of many animal species. Those that predominated were the reptiles , which reached very varied sizes and populated the entire planet. They were accompanied by fish, mollusks, birds and some small mammals.
There were herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs , each of them with characteristics that allowed them to move and feed according to their needs. For example, the Brachiosaurus had a very long neck that allowed it to reach the leaves of the tallest trees. Its enormous size made it a difficult prey for predators. Instead, the Tyrannosaurus Rex had large fangs that allowed it to land a fatal bite when catching its prey.
The Mesozoic Era occurred after the Paleozoic Era or “Age of Ancient Life”, in which microorganisms and trilobites, marine life forms, abounded. Several million years later, some of those beings came out of the water to adapt and become amphibians, and others stayed there to reproduce as aquatic animals. The animals that characterized the Mesozoic Era can be identified according to the period to which they belonged.
Animals of the Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era is divided into three periods , which are sub-periods in which various forms of life had their peak:
- Triassic period (lasted between 250 and 203 million years)
- Jurassic Period (together with the Cretaceous, lasted between 203 and 65 million years)
- Cretaceous period
Animals of the Triassic Period
The animals that characterized the Triassic Period were:
- Batrachotomus (quadruped predator)
- Coelophysis (agile, similar to Velociraptor )
- Arizonasaurus (with a stiff hump, similar to Stegosaurus )
- Cymbospondylus (marine reptile)
- Mastodonsaurus (agile, larger than Coelophysis )
- Peteinosaurus (flying reptile)
- Eudimorphodon (flying reptile with long tail)
- Proganochelys (small armored reptile)
- Prestosuchus (predator)
- Desmatosuchus (armored reptile with long horns, similar to Ankylosaurus )
- Plateosaurus (elongated spiral-tailed reptile)
- Nothosaurus (predator)
- Postosuchus (predator similar to Prestosuchus )
- Eozostrodon (mammal, Triassic rodent)
Animals of the Jurassic Period
The animals that characterized the Jurassic Period were:
- Mosasaurus (marine reptile with fins and elongated mouth)
- Pterosaurus (flying reptile with membranous wings)
- Velociraptor (agile reptile with pronounced front claws)
- Stegosaurus (reptile with multiple humps that protect it from predators)
- Barosaurus (huge reptile with a long neck)
- Ankylosaurus (armored reptile with hard protrusions all over its back)
- Elasmosaurus (marine reptile with fins and elongated neck like that of Barosaurus )
- Tyrannosaurus (carnivorous reptile with large fangs, but short arms)
- Pachycephalosaurus (reptile with a hard, flat, circular bump on its head)
- Triceratops (reptile with a head crowned with horns, and with a frontal horn)
- Deinonychus (agile reptile with multiple membranes behind its neck)
Animals of the Cretaceous Period
The animals that characterized the Cretaceous Period also include some of the other two periods, as they were species that survived and continued their existence on the planet. They were:
- Corythosaurus
- Tsintaosaurus
- Nodosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Archaeoceratops
- Anatotitan
- Achelousaurus
- Einiosaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Carnotaurus
- Aucasaurus
- Nopponosaurus
- Ornithocheirus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Iguanodon
- Ouranosaurus
- Styracosaurus
- Archelon
- Kronosaurus
- Carcharodontosaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Muttaburrasaurus
- Sarcosuchus
- Saurolophus
- Chasmosaurus
- Abelisaurus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Psittacosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Hypsilophodon
- Pterodactyl
- Lambeosaurus
- Dakosaurus
- Protoceratops
- Triceratops
- Spinosaurus
- Belemnitide
- Elasmosaurus
- Gallimimus
60 examples of Animals from the Mesozoic Era
- Brachiosaurus altithorax
- Brontosaurus
- Ankylosaurus magniventris
- Corythosaurus
- Tsintaosaurus
- Nodosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Archaeoceratops
- Anatotitan
- Achelousaurus
- Einiosaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Carnotaurus
- Aucasaurus
- Nopponosaurus
- Ornithocheirus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Iguanodon
- Ouranosaurus
- Styracosaurus
- Archelon
- Kronosaurus
- Carcharodontosaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Muttaburrasaurus
- Sarcosuchus
- Saurolophus
- Chasmosaurus
- Abelisaurus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Psittacosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Hypsilophodon
- Pterodactyl
- Lambeosaurus
- Dakosaurus
- Protoceratops
- Triceratops
- Spinosaurus
- Belemnitide
- Elasmosaurus
- Gallimimus
- Velociraptor
- Stegosaurus
- Barosaurus
- Batrachotomus
- Coelophysis
- Arizonasaurus
- Cymbospondylus
- Mastodonsaurus
- Peteinosaurus
- Eudimorphodon
- Proganochelys
- Prestosuchus
- Desmatosuchus
- Plateosaurus
- Nothosaurus
- Postosuchus
- Eozostrodon
