The Jurassic period, or the Jura, is probably the most interesting era. After watching the famous movie “The Jurrasic Park”, an average person might think that the Earth was populated only by dinosaurs, like T-rex. In fact, it wasn't quite like that even though the Jurassic period is also known as the Age of Reptiles.
Let's start with the statement that the Jurassic period, the second in the Mesozoic era, is long and complex. It began 201 million years ago and lasted about 56 million years. It got its name because the fossils were first discovered and explored in the Jura mountains in Switzerland and France. Hence the name of the period.
This era is divided into three stages. The first, which lasted from 201.3 to 174.1 million years ago, is called the Lower Jurassic. At that time, life was recovering from the Triassic-Jurassic extinction that caused about half of all animal species on the planet to disappear. However, the hot and humid climate of the Jura helped life to quickly bounce back. Warm oceans and seas abounded with Ammonoidea, Belemnitida, fish and reptiles. On land, reptiles including dinosaurs quickly filled the ecological niches freed by the previous extinction. In the process of evolution, some reptiles got wings and flew into the sky.
The beginning of the Jurassic period launched the high time for reptiles. Hundreds of dinosaur species appeared on the planet. They settled on all continents, including Antarctica. Some reached incredible sizes and proportions. Some, of course, developed formidable shapes, sometimes bizarre and scary. What are the mysteries of the prehistoric reptiles that lived on Earth 200 million years ago?
