Dinosaurs existed through three huge chunks of the Earth’s history. Scientists think that the Earth has existed for about 4,500 million years. To understand such a vast amount of time they divide it into Periods.
The dinosaurs lived through three Periods:
- The Triassic (try-ass-ic) period,
- The Jurassic (joo-rass-ic) period
- The Cretaceous (cret-ay-shus) period.
Dinosaurs first appeared near the end of the Triassic and finally died out at the end of the Cretaceous. Different kinds of dinosaurs lived during the three Periods.
Changing Landscapes
During the 179 million years from the beginning of the Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous, the world changed greatly.
Dinosaurs of the Triassic and Jurassic wandered through ferns, seed ferns, conifers and horsetails. The landscape was very different from our world today. There was no grass at all, instead, ferns covered the ground.
During the Cretaceous new types of vegetation grew and dinosaurs lived among, and fed on, plants that we know today, such as willow, rose, magnolia, oak and grape vine.
When The Dinosaurs Arrived
The dinosaurs arrived at the end of the Triassic Period 245-204 million years ago.
At the end of the Triassic, there were vast areas of hot, dry desert. But near rivers and coasts there were lush forests of tree ferns. In drier areas there were thinner forests of conifers (cone-bearing trees), rather like the monkey puzzle trees of today, and cycads, a palm like plant.
In these Triassic forests lived dinosaurs such as Anchisaurus, Coelophysis and Saltopus.
The Time Of The Giants
The larger dinosaurs existed during the Jurassic Period 204 – 140 million years ago.
The weather was warm and wet in the Jurassic Period, which meant that many plants flourished. The world was greener, which meant thick forests. In these conditions giant sauropod dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus, evolved.
There was plenty of vegetation for these huge plant-eaters to live on. Birds first appeared in the Jurassic.
- The Pterosaurus were winged reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs.
- The Cetiosarus was a large sauropod. It fed on plants.
- Small mammals, reptiles, and large crocodiles inhibited the same world as the dinosaurs.
- The early Stegosaur was a plant eater.
- Megalosaurus, one of the best known Jurassic dinosaurs. They attacked plant eating dinosaurs.
Monsters And Flowers
The monstrous meat-eating dinosaurs existing during the Cretaceous Period 140-66 million years ago.
The first flowering plants, such as magnolia and rose appeared towards the end of the Cretaceous Period. Ferns, horsetails, conifers, and cycads continued to grow too.
The massive sauropod dinosaurs gave way to faster moving meat eaters, such as the Tyrannosaurus and Albertosaurus, and plant eaters like Iguanodon.
- Large Pterosaurus (flying reptiles) shared the skies with feathered birds.
- Parasaurolophus were dinosaurs with long tube-like crests on their heads.
- Ostrich-like Stenonychosaurus was a fast hunting meat-eater.
- Broad-leaved flowering trees, such as oaks, gradually forming forests during this period.
- Corythosaurus was a duck-billed dinosaur that ate plants.
- During the middle of the Cretaceous Period, flowering plants appeared on the earth for the first time.
- Triceratops, one of the best-known dinosaurs, lived during the Cretaceous Period.
Were There Flowers In The Triassic Period?
No, there were no flowers at all during the Triassic period. Nor were there any flowers in the Jurassic. Flowering plants did not appear on Earth until the middle of the Cretaceous Period.