The marine world in the age of dinosaurs
Do you ever wonder what lived in the ocean when the dinosaurs roamed the land? Dr Anjani Ganase shares what life might have been like in the Mesozoic. The dinosaurs roamed the earth for some 180 million years during the Mesozoic Era (252 – 66 million years ago). Hominids have been around for 11- 16 million years; and homo sapiens (us) for only the most recent 750,000 years. The Mesozoic Era (digest that - 180 million years!) is divided into three main periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. The Mesozoic Era followed the splitting up of the super continent Pangaea resulting in considerable volcanic activities and climatic shifts. As the land shifted to form the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and other ocean basins, the global ocean called Panthalassa shifted into the Pacific Ocean. At the time, it is thought that global climate was much warmer than today with no ice at the poles and sea levels much higher. The separation of the continents contributed to the...