Mesozoic Era

The Mesozoic Era (251-66 million years ago) follows the Paleozoic Era and is followed by the Cenozoic Era. It is also called “The Age of Reptiles” and is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It is defined buy the Permian-Triassic extinction (the largest extinction in Earth’s history) and the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction. The Mesozoic was the era of the Dinosaurs, appearing in the late Triassic following rediversification of the archosaurs following the extinction event the dinosaurs went on to dominate the terrestrial environment until their extinction at the end of the Mesozoic. Mammals also appeared though remained small until the Cenozoic, as well as birds and insects diversified in symbiosis with the arrival of flowering plants.