Late Jurassic

The Late Jurassic (or Malm) Epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago, which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. [Owen 1987.]

ubdivisions

The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three (faunal) stages of Upper Jurassic rock:

Paleogeography

Pangaea broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. The result of this break-up was the spawning of Atlantic Ocean. However, at this time, the Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow.

Life

This period was well known for many famous types of dinosaurs, such as the sauropods, the theropods, the thyreophorans, and the ornithopods. Other animals, such as crocodiles and the first birds, appeared in the Jurassic. Here are only a few of the many Jurassic animals:

**"Camarasaurus" a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from North America.
**"Brachiosaurus" a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from North America.
**"Diplodocus" a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from North America.
**"Supersaurus" possibly the largest North American sauropod of them all.
**"Dicraeosaurus" a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from Africa.
**"Giraffititan" another large sauropod from Africa (usually recognized as a species of "Brachiosaurus".
**"Allosaurus" the most common late Jurassic/early Cretaceous theropod of North America.
**"Epanterias" the largest Jurassic carnivore of all, from North America.
**"Ceratosaurus" a medium sized Jurassic carnivore of North America and Africa.
**"Compsognathus" a small theropod from Europe.
**"Yangchuanosaurus" a large theropod from Asia.
**"Tuojiangosaurus" a thyreophoran from Asia.
**"Stegosaurus" a North American thyreophoran.
**"Dryosaurus" a North American ornithopod.
**"Camptosaurus" another ornithopod from North America.
**"Gargoyleosaurus" a thyreophoran from North America.
**"Archaeopteryx" the first known bird, from Europe.
**"Rhamphorhynchus" a flying pterosaur from Europe.
**"Ophthalmosaurus" a very common sea-going ichthyosaur from what is now Europe and North America.
**"Liopleurodon" a very large sea-going pliosaur from what is now Europe.
**"Pterodactylus" a flying pterosaur from Europe.

References

* cite journal
last = Owen
first = Donald E.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Commentary: Usage of Stratigraphic Terminology in Papers, Illustrations, and Talks
journal = Journal of Sedimentary Petrology
volume = 57
issue = 2
pages = 363–372
publisher =
date = March 1987
url =
doi =
id =
accessdate = [http://www.agiweb.org/nacsn/JSP_commentary.htm Reproduced here] .
* cite web
last = Kazlev
first = M. Alan
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Late Jurassic — The Malm Epoch: The Acme of the Dinosaurs
work = Palæos
publisher =
date = 2002-06-28
url = http://www.palaeos.com/Mesozoic/Jurassic/LateJura.html
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-04-11