MESOZOIC LIFE AND EXTINCTIONS

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this unit you should be able to:

• 1. Mention the different geochronologic units that form the Mesozoic era ;
• 2. highlight the major changes in the fauna and flora that took place in Mesozoic time and gave its landscape a different a more "modern" appearance;
• 3. explain the characteristics of the reef communities throughout the Mesozoic ;
• 4. describe the evolution in guide fossil groups through the Mesozoic;
• 5. indicate the important protists which appear at different moments of Mesozoic time and their influence in the general make-up of marine sedimentation;
• 7. discuss the evolution of invertebrate marine predators and their influence on their preys;
• 8. characterize modern fishes appearing during the Mesozoic,
• 9. analyze the evolution among the different classes of vertebrates, their relationships with each other and with the changing environment;
• 10. illustrate the changes in the terrestrial plants pointing out their distribution, characteristics and evolutionary advantages;
• 11. indicate the age of different extinctions that took place during the Mesozoic identifying the groups that were affected and the extent to which they suffered;
• 12. discuss the causes, evidences  and consequences of the terminal Mesozoic extinction.


Outline