Group items tagged

The climate of the Triassic era was influenced by Pangaea, its centralized position stradling the equator, and the geologic activity associated with its breakup. Generally speaking, the continents were of high elevation compared to sea level, and the sea level did not change drastically during the period. Due to the low sea level, flooding of the continents to form shallow seas did not occur. Much of the inland area was isolated from the cooling and moist effects of the ocean. The result was a globally arid and dry climate, though regions near the coast most likely experienced seasonal monsoons. There were no polar ice caps, and the temperature gradient in the north-south direction is assumed to have been more gradual than present day. The sea level rose as the rift grew between North Africa and southern Europe, resulting in the flooding of Central and South Europe; the climates of terrestrial Europe were hot and dry, as in the Permian. Overall, it appears that the climate included both arid dune environments and moist river and lake habitats with gymnosperm forests.

rming on the Americas, North Africa was being split from Europe by the spreading rift. This division of the continents advanced further westward, eventually splitting eastern North America from North Africa.

There were no dinosaurs at the beginning of the Triassic, but there were many amphibians and some reptiles and dicynodonts (like Lystrosaurus). During the early Triassic, corals appeared and ammonites recovered from the Permian extinction. Seed plants dominated the land; in the Northern hemisphere, conifers flourish. Glossopteris was the dominant southern hemisphere tree during the Early Triassic period.

The Triassic Period was the first period of the Mesozoic Era and occurred between 251 million and 199 million years ago

Climate was generally very dry over much of Pangaea with very hot summers and cold winters in the continental interior.

Some 250 million years ago, during the late Permian and early Triassic, the world was a greenhouse, much hotter than it is today.