Triassic Period Facts for Kids

The Triassic Period Timeline
  • Period Name: Triassic
  • Era: Mesozosic
  • Period Span: 50.6 million years
  • Succeeded Period: Jurassic
  • Preceded Period: Permian
  • Example of Dinosaurs: Staurikosaurus and Postosuchus

15 Triassic Period Facts

  1. The Triassic Period is the first of the three geologic periods of the Mesozoic Era.
  2. The Triassic Period was the shortest period of the Mesozoic Era.
  3. The Triassic Period lasted roughly 50.6 million years.
  4. The Triassic Period occurred between 251.902 and 201.3 million years ago.
  5. The Triassic Period had three epochs, the Early Triassic, the Middle Triassic and the Late Triassic.
  6. The Early Triassic Period was roughly between 252 and 247 million years ago.
  7. The Middle Triassic Period was roughly between 247 and 237 million years ago.
  8. The Late Triassic Period was roughly between 237 and 201 million years ago.
  9. The Triassic Period saw the rise of the dinosaurs, and they would dominate the planet for the next 185 million years.
  10. The Triassic Period started after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. This was the largest mass extinction event in the history of the planet. More than 90% of all living life, both on land and in the sea, went extinct.
  11. The Triassic Period ended with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event.
  12. During the Triassic Period virtually all the planet’s land mass was concentrated into one area. This massive concentration of land is called the supercontinent Pangaea.
  13. The climate throughout the Jurassic Period was hot and dry.
  14. Some of the dinosaurs that lived during the Triassic Period were the Herrerasaurus, Melanorosaurus, Plateosaurus, Staurikosaurus and the Thecodontosaurus.
  15. The term Triassic was coined by German geologist Friedrich von Alberti in 1843.

Additional Resources on the Triassic Period

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