252 — 66 Ma
Timeline
Dinosaurs ruled the land, but the Mesozoic was much more than that. In the seas, giant reptiles competed with sophisticated sharks. In the skies, pterosaurs had wingspans larger than small airplanes. And on the margins, the ancestors of mammals waited for their turn.
Triassic · 252–201 Ma
Jurassic · 201–145 Ma
Cretaceous · 145–66 Ma
252 Ma230 Ma201 Ma175 Ma145 Ma110 Ma66 Ma
Sharks
Hybodus Mesozoic shark
Cretoxyrhina Cretaceous ginsu shark
Squalicorax scavenger shark
Marine reptiles
Ichthyosaurs dolphin-like reptiles
Plesiosaurs long-necked
Pliosaurs giant head
Mosasaurs marine lizards
Terrestrial archosaurs
Rauisuchids Triassic top predators
Phytosaurs crocodile analogs
Pterosaurs flying reptiles
Crocodyliforms terrestrial and marine
Synapsids / mammals
Dicynodonts tusked herbivores
Mesozoic mammals small, in the shadows
Sharks
Marine reptiles
Terrestrial archosaurs
Synapsids / mammals
Dark band = extinction
☠ Mass extinction
🌋 Volcanism
☄ Meteor impact
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