Many animals that live today weren't around during the Jurassic period and vice versa. What new animals will you get to see on your journey through time?
Aquatic / Marine
During the Jurassic period, the primary vertebrates living in the sea were fish and marine reptiles. The following are included in the latter.
- Ichthyosaurus - This dolphin-like reptile lived during the Triassic and Jurassic periods
- Plesiosaurs - These marine reptiles grew to be up to 49 ft (15 m) long. They lived in the Triassic period and became especially common during the Jurassic period
- Marine Crocodiles - some marine crocodyliforms existed during the Jurassic, namely those of the families Teleosauridae and Metriorhynchidae.
Terrestrial
- Diplodocus - These massive herbivores are some of the longest dinosaurs known, with a total length that can reach up to 79 ft (24 m).
- Allosaurus - This land predator was one of the largest around during the Jurassic.
- Stegosaurus - This is one of the most recognizable genera of dinosaurs and lived during the mid to late Jurassic
"Firsts"
The first birds appeared during the Jurassic, having evolved from a branch of theropod dinosaurs. In addition, the rest of the Lissamphibia evolved in this period, introducing the first salamanders and caecilians. During the Jurassic period, about four or five of the twelve clades of planktonic organisms that exist in the fossil record either experienced a massive evolutionary radiation or appeared for the first time.