The Late Jurassic

dinosaurs · ancient earth · geological time

Reign of giants. The Late Jurassic was when the biggest land animals ever to walk Earth were alive, including the massive long-necked sauropods like Brachiosaurus that weighed as much as 10 elephants combined.

Warm and lush. During this time, Earth was much warmer than today with no ice caps at the poles, and most of the land was covered in thick forests and swamps where dinosaurs thrived.

Flying reptiles ruled skies. While dinosaurs stomped around on the ground, pterosaurs were flying overhead as the first vertebrates to conquer the air, with wingspans as wide as small airplanes.

Timeline of time. The Late Jurassic lasted about 18 million years, making it long enough for whole families of dinosaur species to evolve, thrive, and disappear before the next age began.

Shallow seas everywhere. Much of North America and Europe were covered by shallow inland seas called seaways, which were filled with ancient fish, swimming reptiles, and the ancestors of modern crocodiles.