Dinosaurs first appeared in the fossil record in the early part of the Mesozoic Era known as the Triassic Period some 225 million years ago.  The dinosaurs persisted for approximately 160 million years, and became extinct except for birds at the end of the Mesozoic, during the period known as the Cretaceous which was 65 million years ago. 

The Mesozoic Era is divided into 3 different areas known as Periods and sub-divided into 30 different sections known as Epochs.  The periods consist of The Triassic Period, The Jurassic Period and the Cretaceous Period.

Follow the links below to see a time line of each Period and the corresponding globes as the earth might have looked millions of years ago.    

(NOTICE:  All of the images within the links below have been reduced to assure a faster download time.  However, if you have a slow Internet connection, the images could take a few extra moments to load.
Please Be Patient

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