Mesozoic Era to Modern Times
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Mesozoic Era to Modern Times
Objectives
- Summarize the Mesozoic Era
- Explain what happened to dinosaurs
- Summarize the Cenozoic Era
- Discuss comparative anatomy
Three Periods
- Triassic
- Jurassic
- Cretaceous
Triassic Period
- First dinosaurs branched off from reptiles
- Ferns and conifers dominated forests
- Modern corals, fish, and insects evolved
- Pangea started to separate
- Ended with mass extinction
Jurassic Period
- Dinosaurs flourished
- Earliest birds evolved from reptiles
- Major groups of mammals evolved, though small
- Flowering plants appeared, and insects to pollinate
- Continents moved and volcanoes intense
Cretaceous Period
- Dinosaurs reached peak in size and distribution
- Continents close to present locations
- Warm climate (no ice on poles)
- Ended with dramatic extinction of dinosaurs
Cenozoic Era
65 million years ago to present
The Cenozoic Era is also known as the Age of Mammals.
Tertiary Period
- 65-1.8 million years ago
- Warm and humid
- Mammals evolved and filled niches left by dinos
- Mammals increased in size
- Primates evolved
Quaternary Period
- 1.8 million years ago - present
- Climate cooled leading to ice ages
- Sea levels fell creating land bridges
- Last ice age ended ~12,000 years ago
- By then humans had evolved
living Species
Evidence of Evolution
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the structures of different species.
Homologous Structures
- Similar in related organisms
- Inherited from common ancestor
- May or may not have same function in different species
Analogous Structues
- Similar in unrelated organisms
- Evolved to do the same job
- Do not have common ancestor
- E.g. Bats' and birds' wings
