250 Millions of years ago mya EARLY TRIASSIC MIDDLE TRIASSIC 247 249 mya Sea surface temperatures of 104°F 40°C in the tropics 248 mya Permian Mass Extinction causes 96 of all species to die out 235 230 mya The evolution of dinosaurs and the first mammals started The Triassic Period During the Triassic Earth's landmass was all one continent called Pangaea which means all the land To the east a large gulf called the Tethys Sea entered Pangaea The rest of the ocean is called the Panthalassa which means all the sea By the mid Triassic the Pangaea began to separate gradually into two landmasses Laurasia in the north and Gondwana to the south The climate was mostly hot and dry with deserts covering the interior The period ended with another major mass extinction that destroyed many animal groups and allowed dinosaurs to rule the land
LATE TRIASSIC Many of the first dinosaurs evolved during the Late Triassic including Plateosaurus Coelophysis and Eoraptor 205 mya Triassic Jurassic Mass Extinction causes about half of all animal species to die out LIFE DURING THE TRIASSIC The Triassic began after the Permian Triassic extinction event It took well into the middle of the period for life to recover fully Therapsids and archosaurs were the main land animals during this time A specialized subgroup of archosaurs the dinosaurs first appeared in the Late Triassic The first true mammals which were a subgroup of the therapsids also evolved during this period as did the first flying reptiles the pterosaurs The oceans were home to air breathing reptiles that had similar lifestyles to modern dolphins and seals
Triassic Period 240 mya Europe Ticinosuchus Ticinosuchus was not a dinosaur It was a member of the family of predatory archosaurs known as rauisuchians Its name means Ticino River crocodile after the place in Italy where its fossils were found Ticinosuchus was quite small for a rauisuchian But nevertheless it wasa ferocious predator that hunted smaller reptiles Ticinosuchus's entire body even the belly was covered in thick armored scutes similar to modern crocodiles but the way it moved was very different
In this scene from the shores of Triassic Europe a group of juvenile Nothosauruses 2 scatter into the surf to flee from a hungry Ticinosuchus 1 From the structure of its leg bones paleontologists know that the back legs were directly beneath its body rather than out to the side as in modern crocodiles This suggests that Ticinosuchus was a fast runner Its diet included shellfish and fish Probably an opportunist it snacked on carrion and hatchlings Ticinosuchus grew to 10 feet 3 m long and weighed about 100 pounds 45 3 kg
