Late Triassic

The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) that has a roughly corresponding age. The Late Triassic spans the time between 228.0 ± 2 Ma and 199.6 ± 0.6 Ma (million years ago). The Late Triassic is divided into the Carnian, Norian and Rhaetian ages.

Many of the first dinosaurs evolved during the Late Triassic, including Plateosaurus, Coelophysis, and Eoraptor.

Paleogeography and tectonics

Africa

Africa shared Pangea's relatively uniform fauna which was dominated by theropods, prosauropods and primitive ornithischians by the close of the Triassic period.^[1] Late Triassic fossils are found through-out Africa, but are more common in the south than north.^[1] The boundary separating the Triassic and Jurassic marks the advent of an extinction event with global impact, although African strata from this time period have not been thoroughly studied.^[1]

See also

• Triassic-Jurassic extinction event

References

Geology portal

Paleontology portal

Time portal

• GeoWhen Database - Late Triassic
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jacobs, Louis, L. (1997). "African Dinosaurs." Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Edited by Phillip J. Currie and Kevin Padian. Academic Press. p. 2-4.