Marine dinosaur in Jurassic World. Encyclopedic short information about the Jurassic period
The hero of many frightening films, the sinister and carnivorous pteranodon, in real life(just like pterodactyls and rhamforins) ate mainly fish, paying little attention to people. True, it should be taken into account that there were no people then. If he lived in our time, he would pose a considerable danger, since with a 15-meter wingspan and a weighty beak, he can kill purely by accident, with one sneeze, while trying to take a can of delicious sprats from a person.
It is similar to a Tyrannosaurus rex and is often replaced in many films when the Tyrannosaurus is unavailable or sick (for example, in the film "A Sound of Thunder"). It is believed to have reached 8 and a half meters in length and 3 and a half meters in height. Scientists are debating whether Allosaurus was a collective animal or lived separately, outside the pack. There are two arguments here: on the one hand, allosaurus bones are found in bulk from many individuals. On the other hand, the creature was too aggressive for cohabitation in a large society. However, to devour a person, even one Allosaurus, even the most recent outcast loser, is enough.
Known to science for a long time, since the nineteenth century. It weighed one and a half tons and was nine meters long. He ate other smaller lizards. There was something akin to a horn on the head, so Majungasaurus worked not only with its teeth, but also with its head. It is believed that he had poor vision, but had a strong sense of smell. So in modern times it could be used to find drugs and eat drug lords.
It is not clear why this creature was called Sarcosuchus. They would immediately call “ huge crocodile", and it would immediately be clear who we are talking about. The great-great-great-grandfather of the crocodile Gena grew up to 12 meters and fattened up to 6 tons. He's twice as big as anyone modern crocodile; if a sarcosuchus crosses the road, this is a very, very bad omen.
A four-ton predator 12 meters long. Scientists on the sidelines say that Nigeria could be inhabited by more massive look carchadontosaurs - 14 meters in length and weighing 9 tons. He was a lone hunter, and he was probably pretty good at it. More likely, and he simply died out of boredom when he realized that he had already achieved everything in this life.
A bona fide showbiz superstar, ol' T. rex is no longer actually considered the world's largest fossil. land predator. They still make films about it, write books and tell stories, since it was the tyrannosaurus in the old school programs portrayed as the main embodiment of evil. And yet paleontology does not stand still!
However, if the T. rex saw you, it wouldn’t stand still either - pumped up hind legs they carried a two-ton mass at breakneck speed, and their jaws could bite through the body armor of most herbivorous lizards. What can we say about you? You won't even hear him approaching in your headphones.
A seven-meter mobile school predator. The brain cavity in the cranium is closer in volume to birds than to other predatory lizards. Hence the logical conclusion of paleontologists that Utahraptor could have been more cunning and smarter than a typical dinosaur. But still, the Utahraptor was hardly such an insidious intellectual as Hollywood scriptwriters imagine it to be in a narcotic stupor - after all, birds are also different, compare the behavior of city sparrows and these hillbilly hens at your leisure.
Utahraptors aren't like that in the movies. frequent guests, like velociraptors, which is strange, since Utahraptor is four times larger and just as much more dangerous (according to police reports).
Biggest complete skeleton This African resident, after measuring, showed a length of 12 meters. However, there is good evidence to suggest the existence of specimens as long as 18 meters in length, so Spinosaurus may well be in contention for the top spot on this list. The Spinosaurus is an extremely unpleasant creature in appearance, according to the identikit. True, some paleontologists offer an alternative vision, even more unpleasant - with a hump and trunk - since, according to their version, he ate mainly fish. Check this at your first meeting.
Let's say right away that the most popular pliosaur among the people is Liopleurodon. You also need to know the fact that pliosaurs are the largest predators that have ever lived on our planet, since 20 meters is quite an accessible size for them. The flippers alone grew up to 3 meters, and the teeth - up to 40 centimeters. Thank God Poseidon that pliosaurs, sea creatures, did not swim into cities.
Paleontologists once found 18 in Mexico meter skeleton pliosaur. It would seem like a harsh, formidable creature! But the thing is that on these bones they found damage caused by the teeth of another, even larger pliosaur, about 25 meters away!
A close relative of Allosaurus (they still talk on the phone). For the first time in scientific literature described in 1995, i.e. two years after the release of Spielberg's Jurassic Park. That’s why I didn’t have time to pass the casting. But he played main role in half a dozen console games.
Giganotosaurs may have lived in packs. The length of their body reached 15 meters in moments of inspiration - this is almost like four Lada Kalina cars. I wonder how long he would digest them? Giganotosaurus skull 40 centimeters more skull Tyrannosaurus! So in the event of a face-to-face meeting, the outcome would be clear. Another thing is that in time these two lizards missed each other by about 30 million years.
If giant lizards take over the Earth again, Russians will have a relatively high chances survive due to the cold climate (although Sochi and Crimea will have to be surrendered, yes). However, in the case of the Giganotosaurus, everything is much worse: scientists suggest that it could have been warm-blooded and could well have been covered with hair or feathers. So he is able to reach Moscow.
Jurassic geological period, Yura, Jurassic system, middle period Mesozoic. It began 206 million years ago and lasted 64 million years.
Jurassic deposits were first 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.
190-145 million years ago in Jurassic period the single supercontinent Pangea began to break up into separate continental blocks. Between them formed shallow seas.
Climate
The climate in the Jurassic period was humid and warm (and by the end of the period - arid in the equator region).
During the Jurassic period, vast areas were covered with lush vegetation, primarily diverse forests. They mainly consisted of ferns and gymnosperms.
Cycads- a class of gymnosperms that predominated in the green cover of the Earth. Nowadays they are found here and there in the tropics and subtropics. Dinosaurs roamed under the shade of these trees. Externally, cycads are so similar to low (up to 10-18 m) palm trees that even Carl Linnaeus placed them among palm trees in his plant system.
During the Jurassic period, groves of ginkgo trees grew throughout what was then temperate zone. Ginkgos are deciduous (unusual for gymnosperms) trees with an oak-like crown and small fan-shaped leaves. Only one species has survived to this day - Ginkgo biloba. Conifers were very diverse, similar to modern pines and cypresses, which flourished at that time not only in the tropics, but had already mastered the temperate zone.
Marine organisms
Compared to the Triassic, the population has changed a lot seabed. Bivalves displace brachiopods from shallow waters. Brachiopod shells are replaced by oysters. Bivalve mollusks fill all life niches of the seabed. Many stop collecting food from the ground and switch to pumping water using their gills. Folds up new type reef communities, approximately the same as what exists now. It is based on six-rayed corals that appeared in the Triassic.
Land animals
One of the fossil creatures of the Jurassic period, combining the characteristics of birds and reptiles, is Archeopteryx, or the first bird. His skeleton was first discovered in the so-called lithographic shales 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 quite poorly (gliding from tree to tree), and was approximately 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, only hoatzin chicks have them).
During the Jurassic period, small, furry, warm-blooded animals called mammals lived on Earth. They live next to dinosaurs and are almost invisible against their background.
Dinosaurs of the Jurassic period (" terrible lizards"from Greek) lived in ancient forests, lakes, and swamps. The range of differences between them is so great that family ties between them are installed with with great difficulty. They could be the size of a cat or chicken, or they could reach the size of huge whales. Some of them walked on four limbs, while others ran on hind legs. Among them were dexterous hunters and bloodthirsty predators, but there were also harmless herbivores. Key Feature common to all their species is that they were land animals.
Jurassic period most famous of all periods Mesozoic era. Most likely, such fame Jurassic period acquired thanks to the film "Jurassic Park".
Jurassic tectonics:
At first Jurassic period the single supercontinent Pangea began to break up 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 has deepened. Depressions formed in Eurasia: German, Anglo-Paris, West Siberian. The Arctic Sea flooded the northern coast of Laurasia. It was due to this that the climate of the Jurassic period became more humid. Jurassic period.
During the Jurassic period The outlines of the continents begin to form: Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North and South America.
And although they are located differently than now, they were formed precisely in
This is what the Earth looked like at the end of the Triassic - the beginning
Jurassic period
about 205 - 200 million years ago Jurassic period This is what the Earth looked like at the end of the Jurassic period around 152 million years ago. Jurassic climate and vegetation: Volcanic activity of the end of the Triassic - the beginning caused sea transgression. The continents were divided and the climate in Jurassic period Jurassic period became wetter than in the Triassic. In place of deserts Triassic period, V Jurassic period lush vegetation grew.
Huge territories covered with lush vegetation. Forests Jurassic period consisted mainly of ferns and gymnosperms. Warm and humid climate contributed to the rapid development flora planets. Ferns, conifers and cycads formed extensive swampy forests . Araucarias, thujas, and cycads grew on the coast. Ferns and horsetails formed extensive forested areas . At first Jurassic period Jurassic period, about 195 million years ago Throughout the northern hemisphere, the vegetation was quite monotonous. But already starting from the middle of the Jurassic period, about 170-165 million years ago, two (conditional) plant belts were formed: northern and southern. In the northern
plant belt
ginkgo and herbaceous ferns predominated. Jurassic period IN ginkgos were very widespread. Groves of ginkgo trees grew throughout the belt. The southern plant belt was dominated by cycads and tree ferns. Jurassic period Ferns . Araucarias, thujas, and cycads grew on the coast. Ferns and horsetails formed extensive. Nowadays they are found here and there in the tropics and subtropics. Dinosaurs roamed under the shade of these trees. Externally, 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.
IN Jurassic period Ginkgos 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 precisely during the brisk period. Coniferous forests
Jurassic period were similar to modern ones.
Land animals Jurassic period:
Jurassic period- Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was the lush development of vegetation that contributed to the emergence of many species herbivorous dinosaurs. The increase in the number of herbivorous dinosaurs gave impetus to the increase in the number of predators. Dinosaurs settled all over the land and lived in forests, lakes, and swamps. The range of differences between them is so great that family ties between them are established with great difficulty. Jurassic period Variety of dinosaur species in
it was great. They could be the size of a cat or chicken, or they could reach the size of huge whales. Jurassic period One of the fossil creatures , combining the characteristics of birds and reptiles, is Archeopteryx
, or first bird. His skeleton was first discovered in the so-called lithographic shales 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 quite poorly (gliding from tree to tree), and was approximately 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, only hoatzin chicks have them).
Kings of the Jurassic Sky: Jurassic period IN Jurassic period Winged lizards - pterosaurs - reigned supreme in the air. They appeared in the Triassic, but their heyday was precisely Pterosaurs were represented by two groups pterodactyls And .
Pterodactyls were in most cases tailless, varying in size - from the size of a sparrow to a crow. They had wide wings and a narrow skull elongated forward with a small number of teeth in the front. Pterodactyls lived in large 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 rocks. The skin of pterodactyls was wrinkled and bare. They ate mainly fish or carrion, sometimes sea lilies, mollusks, and insects. In order to fly, pterodactyls were forced to jump from cliffs or trees.
IN Jurassic climate and vegetation: the first birds or something in between birds and lizards appear. Creatures that appeared in Jurassic period and having the properties of lizards and modern birds are called Archeopteryx.
The first birds were Archeopteryx, the size of a pigeon. Archeopteryx lived in forests. They ate mainly insects and seeds. Jurassic period But Jurassic period is not limited to just animals. Thanks to climate change and rapid development of flora.
, the evolution of insects accelerated dramatically, and as a result, the Jurassic landscape was eventually filled with the endless buzzing and crackling sounds of many new species of insects crawling and flying everywhere. Among them were the predecessors of modern ants, bees, earwigs, flies and wasps
Masters of the Jurassic Seas: Jurassic period As a result of the split of Pangea,
, new seas and straits were formed, in which new types of animals and algae developed. Jurassic period Compared to the Triassic, in The population of the seabed has changed greatly. Bivalves displace brachiopods from shallow waters. Brachiopod shells are replaced by oysters. . Araucarias, thujas, and cycads grew on the coast. Ferns and horsetails formed extensive Bivalve mollusks fill all life niches of the seabed. Many stop collecting food from the ground and switch to pumping water using their gills. In warm and Jurassic climate and vegetation: shallow seas Other important events also took place. IN a new type of reef community is emerging, approximately the same as what exists now. It is based on six-rayed corals that appeared in the Triassic. The resulting giant coral reefs sheltered numerous ammonites and new species of belemnites (old relatives of today's octopuses and squids).
They also housed many invertebrates, such as sponges and bryozoans (sea mats). Gradually on Jurassic period seabed fresh sediments accumulated. On land, in lakes and rivers there were many with long snouts and sharp teeth for catching fish. Some of their varieties even grew flippers instead of legs to make swimming more convenient. Tail fins allowed them to develop in water higher speed than on land.
New species of sea turtles have also appeared.
All dinosaurs of the Jurassic period
Herbivorous dinosaurs: On June 11, a high-profile premiere will be released in Russia, which viewers have been waiting for more than 10 years - “Jurassic World”. The plot of the new film of the legendary franchise about dinosaurs unfolds in the same thematic entertainment complex
, but 22 years after the events of the first film.
The Hollywood blockbuster will introduce viewers to 18 species of predatory, herbivorous, flying, underwater dinosaurs that inhabit Jurassic World. The main threat in the new film will be the genetically modified predator Indominus Rex, bred by scientists to increase park attendance. As expected, the dubious idea turns into a disaster: the dinosaur, capable of learning and quickly adapting to any threat, gets out of control and begins to hunt visitors to the entertainment complex. Steven Spielberg this time he acted as a producer, and invited a young man, but who had already distinguished himself, to the director’s chair Colina Trevorrow
(“Safety not guaranteed”). In 2011, Spielberg's first film, Jurassic Park, was included in NASA's list of the most reliable science fiction films. Whether the new picture will turn out to be just as realistic remains to be seen. In the meantime, we invite you to remember the most bloodthirsty predators from the legendary saga of dinosaurs, which frightened park visitors for more than 20 years.
Velociraptor
Photo: www.globallookpress.com The first acquaintance with dinosaurs in Jurassic Park begins with a small but especially bloodthirsty predator - the velociraptor. The creators of the film characterize this animal as very dangerous. smart predator
, capable of hunting in well-coordinated groups. It is velociraptors in Steven Spielberg's films that most often attack people. On one of the velociraptor's fingers there is a large curved claw, with which it clings to its prey and then pierces its trachea or cervical artery.
Velociraptor
Tyrannosaurus One of the most A popular franchise is without a doubt the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The T-Rex, as it is also called, is considered the largest of the carnivorous carnivorous dinosaurs. In the film, he poses a serious threat not only to humans, but also to other theme park animals. In a fight, he can defeat almost anyone: the length of the tyrannosaurus is 12 meters and the weight is 9 thousand kg. T-Rex's vision is very well developed, as well as his hearing and sense of smell, so he senses prey perfectly, and it is impossible to hide from him. The eyes of a Tyrannosaurus rex accurately assess the distance to its prey, allowing the predator to rush at it and tear it to pieces in a matter of seconds.
Dilophosaurus
Photo: Shutterstock.com
Another dangerous inhabitant theme park - Dilophosaurus. In Steven Spielberg's film it is depicted as small, but in fact this animal was one of the most large predators North America. Dangerous beast can be distinguished by two ridges on the skull, extending from the nostrils to the top of the head. One of the features of Dilophosaurus is weak jaws - scriptwriter Michael Crichton explained by the fact that the lizard hunts with the help of poisonous saliva, and it is almost impossible to protect yourself from the tenacious claws and razor-sharp teeth of the predator.
Spinosaurus
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In the third part of "Jurassic Park" the most dangerous predator presented the owner of a bizarre appearance and colossal dimensions - the Spinosaurus. The narrow long jaws of this animal are studded with sharp teeth and are perfect for holding a struggling victim. In the film, the Spinosaurus is larger and stronger than the Tyrannosaurus: in the scene where the fight between these predators takes place, it is the first that emerges victorious. However, such a fight could not have happened in real life, since dinosaurs were representatives of different continents and lived at different times.
Pteranodon
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Pteranodon is the largest flying reptile, with a wingspan that can reach 15 meters. The predator is distinguished by a large outgrowth on its head (which acts as a rudder during flight) and a toothless long beak. The basis of the diet ancient lizard consisted of fish and small crustaceans, which he caught in flight. In the film, pteranodons are very aggressive and even hunt people.
Compsognathus
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Compsognathus also poses a danger to visitors to Jurassic Park. Unlike the long-extinct originals, in the movie they hunt in packs and attack people. These small predators have developed sensory organs and with quick feet. Compsognathians, who lived 145 million years ago, had 68 sharp, slightly curved teeth, and three toes on their forelimbs. sharp claws, with the help of which they easily grabbed prey.
Indominus
In Jurassic World, viewers will be introduced to a new species of dinosaur - the Indominus. As the filmmakers admit, their task was to come up with the scariest dinosaur ever to appear in the Jurassic Park series. According to the plot of the film, a massive beast was bred specifically to attract visitors to the entertainment center, crossing two of the most dangerous predators: the giant T-Rex and the insidious velociraptors. The Indominus also contains features of Carnosaurus, Gigantosaurus, and several other dinosaur species. The 12-metre giant was raised in isolation after eating its only brother. The creators of Jurassic World endowed the formidable animal with the ability to reach speeds of over 50 km/h and roar at a level of 140-160 decibels. Scientists have not fully studied either the cruelty or intelligence of the Indominus Rex, but one thing is clear - not a single creature in the park can feel safe while this predator roams free.
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Jurassic period- This is the second (middle) period of the Mesozoic era. It begins 201 million years before our times, lasts 56 million years and ends 145 million years ago (according to other sources, the duration of the Jurassic period is 69 million years: 213 - 144 million years). Named after the mountains Yura, in which its sedimentary layers were first identified. Notable for the widespread proliferation of dinosaurs.
Main subsections of the Jurassic period, its geography and climate
In accordance with the classification adopted International Union geological sciences, The Jurassic period is divided into three divisions- Lower - Leyas (stages - Hettangian, Sinemurian, Pliensbachian, Toarcian), Middle - Dogger (stages - Aalenian, Bayocian, Bathian, Callovian) and Upper Small (stages - Oxfordian, Kimmeridge, Tithonian).
Jurassic period | Departments | tiers |
Leias (Lower) | Hettangian | |
Sinemyursky | ||
Pliensbachian | ||
Toarsky | ||
Dogger (Medium) | Aalensky | |
Bayocian | ||
Bathian | ||
Callovian | ||
Small (Upper) | Oxford | |
Kimmeridge | ||
Titonian |
During this period, the division of Pangea into component blocks - continents - continued. Upper Laurentia, which later became North America and Europe, finally separated from Gondwana, which again began to move south. As a result, the connection between global continents was disrupted, which had an important impact on further evolution and development of flora and fauna. The differences that arose at that time are sharply expressed to this day.
The Tethys Sea, which had expanded even more as a result of the divergence of the continents, now occupied most of modern Europe. It originated from the Iberian Peninsula and, crossing the south and southeast of Asia diagonally, came out in Pacific Ocean. Most of present-day France, Spain and England were under his warm waters. On the left, as a result of the separation of the North American section of Gondwanaland, a depression began to emerge, which in the future became the Atlantic Ocean.
With the beginning of the Jurassic era average temperature on globe gradually began to decline, and therefore in the lower section Jurassic climate was close to temperate - subtropical. But closer to the middle, the temperature began to rise again, and by the beginning of the Cretaceous period the climate became a greenhouse.
Sea levels rose and fell slightly throughout the Jurassic, but average height sea level was an order of magnitude higher than in the Triassic. As a result of the divergence of continental blocks, a great many small lakes were formed, in which both plant and plant life began to develop and progress very quickly. animal life, so that the quantitative and qualitative level of flora and fauna of the Jurassic period soon caught up and surpassed the Permian level to the point of worldwide mass extinction.
Sedimentation
With a drop in temperature throughout the earth, multiple precipitation began to fall abundantly, which contributed to the advancement of vegetation, and then the animal world, into the depths of the continents, which is due to Jurassic sedimentation. But the formation products are the most intense for this period earth's crust under the influence of continental shifts, and as a consequence - volcanic and other seismic activity. These are various igneous, clastic rocks. There are large deposits of shale, sand, clay, conglomerates, and limestone.
The warm and stable climate of the Jurassic period greatly contributed to the rapid development, formation and evolutionary improvement of both previous and new life forms.
(Fig. 1) rose to a new level in comparison with the sluggish Triassic, which did not particularly shine with varieties.
Rice. 1 - Animals of the Jurassic period The Jurassic seas were full of various marine invertebrates. Belemnites, ammonites, and all kinds of. And although there were an order of magnitude fewer ammonites in the Jurassic than in the Triassic, they for the most part had a more developed body structure than their ancestors from the previous era, with the exception of phyloceras, which did not change at all during the millions of years of transition from the Triassic to the Jurassic. It was at that time that many ammonites acquired their indescribable mother-of-pearl coating, which has survived to this day. Ammonites were found in large quantities, as in distant ocean depths, and in coastal warm and inland seas.
Belemnites reached unprecedented development in the Jurassic era. They gathered in flocks and roamed the depths of the sea in search of unwary prey. Some of them at that time reached three meters in length. The remains of their shells, nicknamed “devil’s fingers” by scientists, are found almost everywhere in Jurassic sediments.
There were numerous bivalves, belonging to the oyster species. At that time, they began to form peculiar oyster banks. Numerous sea urchins, which abundantly populated reef areas at that time. Some of them have successfully survived to this day. But many, such as elongated hedgehogs irregular shapes that had a jaw apparatus became extinct.
Insects also took a big step in their development. Their visual, flying and other devices were increasingly improved. More and more varieties appeared among barnacles, decapods, and leaf-footed crustaceans; most freshwater sponges and caddisflies multiplied and evolved. Ground insects of the Jurassic period were replenished with new varieties of dragonflies, beetles, cicadas, bugs, etc. Along with the emergence huge amount flowering plants began to appear and a large number of pollinating insects that feed on flower nectar.
But greatest development in the Jurassic era it was reptiles that reached - dinosaurs. By the middle of the Jurassic period, they completely took over all land areas, displacing or destroying their reptilian predecessors, from whom they descended, in the pursuit of food.
IN sea depths already at the beginning of the Jurassic period reigned supreme dolphin-like ichthyosaurs. Their long heads had strong, elongated jaws studded with rows of sharp teeth, and large, highly developed eyes were framed by bone-plate rings. By the middle of the period they had become real giants. The length of the skull of some ichthyosaurs reached 3 meters, and the body length exceeded 12 meters. The limbs of these aquatic reptiles evolved under the influence of underwater life and consisted of simple bony plates. Elbows, metatarsals, hands and fingers ceased to differ from each other; one huge flipper supported more than a hundred bone plates of various sizes. The shoulder and pelvic girdles became underdeveloped, but this was not necessary, since mobility in aquatic environment they were provided with additionally grown powerful fins.
Another reptile that seriously and permanently settled in the depths of the sea was plesiosaur. They, like ichthyosaurs, arose in the seas during the Triassic period, but in the Jurassic period they branched into two varieties. Some had long neck and a small head (plesiosaurs), in others the head became an order of magnitude larger, and the neck was much shorter, which is why they became more like underdeveloped crocodiles. Both of them, unlike ichthyosaurs, still needed rest on land, and therefore often crawled onto it, becoming the prey of land giants, such as, for example, a tyrannosaurus or herds of smaller predatory reptiles. Very agile in the water, on land they were the clumsy fur seals of our time. Pliosaurs were much more maneuverable in the water, but what plesiosaurs lacked in agility they made up for with their long necks, which allowed them to instantly grab prey no matter what position their bodies were in.
All kinds of fish species multiplied unusually in the Jurassic period. water depths literally swarmed with a motley variety of coral ray-finned, cartilaginous and ganoids. Sharks and rays were also diverse, still constituting, due to their extraordinary agility, speed and agility developed over hundreds of millions of years of evolution, Jurassic underwater reptile predators. Also during this period, many new varieties of turtles and toads appeared.
But the terrestrial diversity of reptile dinosaurs was truly remarkable.
(Fig. 2) were from 10 centimeters to 30 meters in height. Many of them were simple, harmless herbivores, but often there were also ferocious predators.
Rice. 2 - Jurassic Dinosaurs One of the largest herbivorous dinosaurs was(now - Apatosaurus). Its body weighed 30 tons, its length from head to tail reached 20 meters. And despite the fact that his height at the shoulders reached only 4.5 meters, with the help of his neck, which reached a length of 5-6 meters, they perfectly ate up tree foliage.
But the largest dinosaur of that era, as well as the absolute champion among all animals of the Earth of all times, was a 50-ton herbivore brachiosaurus. With a body length of 26 m, he had such a long neck that when it stretched upward, his small head was 13 meters above the ground. To feed itself, this huge reptile needed to consume up to 500 kg of green mass every day. It is noteworthy that with such truly gigantic sizes body, his brain weighed no more than 450 grams.
It is appropriate to say a few words about predators, of which there were also many in the Jurassic period. The most gigantic and dangerous predator of the Jurassic is considered to be 12 meters tyrannosaurus, but as scientists have proven, this predator was more opportunistic in its views on food. He rarely hunted, often preferring carrion. But they were truly dangerous allosaurus. With a height of 4 meters and a length of 11 meters, these reptile predators hunted prey that was many times larger than them in weight and other parameters. Often they, huddled in a herd, attacked such herbivorous giants era, like Camarasaurus (47 tons) and the aforementioned Apatosaurus.
There were also smaller predators, for example, such as 3-meter dilophosaurs, weighing only 400 kg, but flocking together, they attacked even larger predators.
In view of the ever-increasing danger from predatory individuals, evolution has awarded some herbivorous individuals with formidable elements of defense. For example, like this herbivorous dinosaur, How centrosaurus was endowed with elements of protection in the form of huge sharp spikes on the tail and sharp plates along the ridge. The spikes were so large that with a strong blow, the Kentrosaurus would have pierced through a predator such as a Velociraptor or even a Dilophosaurus.
For all that animal world Jurassic period was carefully balanced. The population of herbivorous lizards was regulated by predatory lizards, predators were restrained by many smaller predators and aggressive herbivores, like stegosaurs. Thus, the natural balance was maintained for many millions of years, and what contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs in Cretaceous period it is still not known.
By the middle of the Jurassic period air space was filled with many flying dinosaurs such as Pterosaurs were represented by two groups and other pterosaurs. They glide quite skillfully in the air, but in order to take to the skies, they needed to climb to impressive heights. These, for the most part, were not very mobile specimens of ancient mammals, but from the air they could very successfully track and attack prey in a pack method. Smaller representatives of flying dinosaurs preferred to make do with carrion.
In Jurassic sediments, the remains of a fledgling Archeopteryx lizard were found, which for a long time considered by scientists to be the ancestor of birds. But, as was recently scientifically proven, this species of lizard was a dead end. Birds evolved mainly from other species of reptiles. Archeopteryx had a long feathered tail, jaws studded with small teeth, and the feathered wings had developed fingers, with the help of which the animal grabbed branches. Archeopteryx flew poorly, mainly gliding from branch to branch. Basically, they preferred to climb tree trunks, digging into their bark and branches with the help of sharp curved claws. It is noteworthy that in our time only the chicks of the hoatzin bird have fingers on their wings.
The first birds, in the face small dinosaurs, jumped high either in an attempt to reach the insects fluttering in the sky, or in order to escape from predators. In the process of evolution, they became more and more feathered, their jumps became longer and longer. During the jumping process, the future birds helped themselves more and more intensively by waving their forelimbs. Over time, their wings, and not just their forelimbs, acquired increasingly powerful muscles, and the structure of their bones became hollow, as a result of which the overall weight of the birds became much lighter. And all this led to the fact that by the end of the Jurassic period, the air space of the Jurassic, along with pterosaurs, was plowed by a large number of all kinds of ancient birds.
In the Jurassic period they actively reproduced and small mammals. But still, they were not allowed to express themselves widely, since the ubiquitous power of dinosaurs was too overwhelming.
Since, during the process of climate change, the vast deserts of the Triassic began to be abundantly irrigated by precipitation, this created the preconditions for the advancement of vegetation further into the continents, and closer to the middle of the Jurassic period, almost the entire surface of the continents was covered with lush vegetation.
All low-lying places are abundantly overgrown with ferns, cycads and coniferous thickets. The sea coasts were occupied by araucarias, thujas and, again, cycads. Also, vast land masses were occupied by ferns and horsetails. Despite the fact that by the beginning of the Jurassic period on the continents northern hemisphere the vegetation was relatively monotonous; by the middle of the Jurassic, two already established and strengthened main belts of vegetation massifs were formed - northern and southern.
Northern belt was notable for the fact that at that time it was formed mainly by ginkgo plants mixed with herbaceous ferns. With all that half all vegetation northern latitudes Jurassic period consisted of varieties of ginkgo, today only one species of these plants has miraculously survived.
Southern belt were mainly cycads and tree ferns. At all Jurassic plants(Fig. 3) more than half still consisted of various ferns. Horsetails and mosses of those times were almost no different from today. In those places where cordaite and ferns grew en masse during the Jurassic period, this moment tropical cycad jungle grows. Of the gymnosperms, cycads were the most common in the Jurassic. Nowadays they can only be found in tropical and subtropical zones. It was these, with their crowns reminiscent of modern palm trees, that most herbivorous dinosaurs fed on.
Rice. 3 - Plants of the Jurassic period
In the Jurassic period northern latitudes Deciduous ginkgos began to appear for the first time. And in the second half of the period, the first spruce and cypress trees appeared. Jurassic coniferous forests were very similar to modern ones.
Minerals of the Jurassic period
The most pronounced mineral resources dating back to the Jurassic period are European and North American chromite deposits, Caucasian and Japanese copper pyrite deposits, and Alpine deposits manganese ores, tungsten ores of the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka region, Transbaikalia, Indonesia, and the North American Cordillera. Also to this era can be attributed deposits of tin, molybdenum, gold and other rare metals scattered throughout, formed in the late Cimmerian era and thrown to the surface as a result of granitoid mechanisms associated with the separation of continents that took place at the end of the Jurassic period. Iron ore deposits are numerous and widespread. There are uranium ore deposits on the Colorado Plateau.