TRIASSIC PERIOD

The Triassic period (245-208 million years ago)  marked the beginning of what is known as the age of the Dinosaurs ( the Mesozoic era). During this period, the present day continents were massed together, forming one huge continent known as Pangaea. This land mass experienced extremes of climate, with lush green areas around the coast or by lakes and rivers, and arid deserts in the  interior. The only forms of plant life were non flowering plants, such as conifers, ferns, cycads, and ginkgos; flowering plants had not yet evolved. The principle forms of  animal life included primitive amphibians, rhynchosaurs ("beaked lizards"), and primitive crocodilians. Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 million years ago, at the beginning of the  Late Triassic period. The earliest known dinosaurs were the carnivorous (flesh eating) herrerasaurids and staurikosaurids,  such as Herrerasaurus and  Stauriksaurus. Early herbivorous (plant eating) dinosaurs first appeared in Late Triassic times include Plateosaurus and Technosaurus. By the end of the Triassic period, dinosaurs dominated Pangaea, possibly contributing to the extinction of many other reptiles.