Jurassic explained to kids

Jurassic is a period of time that lasted from about 200 million to 145 million years ago. It was the middle period of the Mesozoic Era, between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods. The Jurassic period is named after the Jura Mountains, a mountain range in Europe. The Jurassic was a time of great change for life on Earth. The world was much warmer than it is today, and there were no polar ice caps. The seas were full of life, including giant reptiles like ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs. On land, there were dinosaurs like stegosaurs, allosaurus, and brontosaurus. Pterosaurs ruled the skies. The Jurassic was also a time of great change for plants. The first flowering plants appeared during this time. Conifers like ferns were the dominant plants on land. The Jurassic period ended with a mass extinction, which killed off many of the giant reptiles. Scientists think that a comet or asteroid might have caused this extinction.