Mesozoic Era Facts for Kids

The Mesozoic Era
  • Era Name: Mesozosic Era
  • Known as: Age of Reptiles and Age of Conifers
  • Eon: Phanerozoic
  • Major Periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous
  • Range of Periods: 186 million years
  • Succeeded Era: Cenozoic
  • Preceded Era: Paleozonic

16 Mesozoic Era Facts for Kids

  1. The Mesozoic Era is a geological time period that lasted around 186 million years.
  2. The Mesozoic Era is also called the Age of Reptiles and the Age of Conifers.
  3. The Mesozoic Era is the geological time period when dinosaurs dominated the planet.
  4. The Mesozoic Era starts with the evolution of dinosaurs and ultimately ends with their extinction.
  5. There are three geological periods that make up the Mesozoic Era, and they are the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
  6. The Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era lasted 50.6 million years (251.902 to 201.3 million years ago).
  7. The Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era lasted 56 million years (201.3 to 145 million years ago).
  8. The Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era lasted 79 million years (145 to 66 million years ago).
  9. The three geological periods of the Mesozoic Era are further divided into different epochs and stages.
  10. The Mesozoic Era was started after the Permian-Triassic extinction event. The Permian-Triassic extinction event was the largest extinction event in Earth’s history. Over 90% of marine species and 70% of land vertebrates became extinct.
  11. The Mesozoic Era ended after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event. The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and paved the way for mammals to dominate the planet.
  12. The era before the Mesozoic Era was the Paleozoic Era.
  13. The era after the Mesozoic Era was the Cenozoic Era.
  14. The Mesozoic Era is one of the three eras in the Phanerozoic Eon, and the Phanerozoic Eon is one of four eons on the geological timescale of the planet Earth.
  15. In 1840, British geologist John Phillips proposed the name Mesozoic. The word Mesozoic is derived from the Greek language and means middle life.
  16. In the 19th Century, paleontologist Gideon Mantell coined the phrase Age of Reptiles.

Additional Resources on the Mesozoic Era

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