Period J

Jurassic

201.4000 – 143.1000 Ma

The Jurassic is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that lasted about 58.3 million years, spanning from the end of the Triassic Period 201.4 Ma to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, 143.1 Ma. The Jurassic constitutes the second and middle period of the Mesozoic Era as well as the eighth period of the Phanerozoic Eon and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified.

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Jurassic
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© Scotese, Christopher R.; Vérard, Christian; Burgener, Landon; Elling, Reece P.; Kocsis, Ádám T. · CC BY 4.0
Fossil genera 561
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News 20
Germany’s Famous Fossil Beds Yield New Species of Jurassic Ichthyosaur
Germany’s Famous Fossil Beds Yield New Species of Jurassic Ichthyosaur
Dr. Erin Maxwell from the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart and colleagues have identified a second species from the German Plattenkalk limestone deposits: Jabalisaurus tethyensis. The post Germany’s Famous Fossil Beds Yield New Species of Jurassic Ichthyosaur appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
11/08/2026 sci-news
Jurassic Pliosaur Liopleurodon Was Big, but Not as Big as Once Feared
Jurassic Pliosaur Liopleurodon Was Big, but Not as Big as Once Feared
Liopleurodon ferox is a short-necked marine reptile that patrolled the seas of what is now England and France some 163 million years ago. The post Jurassic Pliosaur Liopleurodon Was Big, but Not as Big as Once Feared appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
22/07/2026 sci-news
Small Sauropod Dinosaur from Jurassic Period Discovered in India
Small Sauropod Dinosaur from Jurassic Period Discovered in India
Paleontologists in India have unearthed a partial skeleton of a diminutive, previously unknown neosauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic rocks of Gujarat’s Kachchh Basin. The post Small Sauropod Dinosaur from Jurassic Period Discovered in India appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
21/07/2026 sci-news
New Jurassic Fossil Reveals How Birds Lost Their Dinosaur Tails
New Jurassic Fossil Reveals How Birds Lost Their Dinosaur Tails
Paleontologists in China have described a small, previously unknown Jurassic bird whose short tail offers new evidence for how the earliest birds traded their long, dinosaur-like tails for the compact tailbone that helps living birds fly. The post New Jurassic Fossil Reveals How Birds Lost Their Dinosaur Tails appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
07/07/2026 sci-news
Yi: Beast of the Week
Yi: Beast of the Week
 This week we will be checking out a dinosaur that was so unusual, it completely changed what we thought we knew about dinosaur evolution.  Check out Yi qi! (pronounced "EE-chee")Yi was a small theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Hebei, in Northeastern China during the late Jurassic period, about 159 million years ago.  From snout to tail it only measured about a foot (30 cm) long and its wingspan was about 2 feet (60cm) wide.  The genus came, "Yi" translates from Mandarin to "wing" and
21/06/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek
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Parent interval
Mesozoic Era
Sub-intervals 3
Early Jurassic
201.4000 – 174.7000
Middle Jurassic
174.7000 – 161.5000
Late Jurassic
161.5000 – 143.1000