druhohorách

Druhohorách, also known as the Mesozoic Era, is a major division of geologic time that spanned from about 252 million to 66 million years ago. It is commonly referred to as the "Age of Reptiles" due to the dominance of dinosaurs during this period. The Mesozoic Era is further divided into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.

The Triassic Period, the earliest part of the Mesozoic, began after the Permian-Triassic extinction event, the largest extinction in Earth's history. Life slowly recovered and diversified. Early dinosaurs appeared during this time, alongside mammals, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles. Pangea, a supercontinent, began to break apart.

The Jurassic Period is renowned for its giant sauropod dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus. This was a time of lush vegetation and diverse dinosaur species. Birds evolved from feathered dinosaurs during this period, and oceans teemed with ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.

The Cretaceous Period, the final era of the Mesozoic, saw the rise of flowering plants (angiosperms) and their pollinators. Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops were prominent inhabitants of this period. The end of the Cretaceous was marked by another mass extinction event, the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs and many other species, paving the way for the rise of mammals. The Mesozoic Era fundamentally shaped the life forms and geological landscape of Earth.