Were there dinosaurs in the Middle Triassic?

Not quite. Dinosaurs first appeared near the end of the Middle Triassic or in the earliest Late Triassic, around 240-235 million years ago. The Middle Triassic was ruled by archosaurs and early reptiles.

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Middle Triassic Period

247-237 million years ago

The Middle Triassic was a time of recovery and experimentation. Life was slowly bouncing back from the devastating Permian extinction, and a diverse array of reptiles were competing to fill empty ecological roles. True dinosaurs had not yet appeared, but the ancestors of crocodiles, turtles, pterosaurs, and mammals were all evolving during this critical interval.

Fun Facts

✓The first marine reptiles, including early ichthyosaurs and nothosaurs, flourished during the Middle Triassic.
✓Archosaurs, the group that eventually split into dinosaurs and crocodilians, were diversifying rapidly.
✓The Middle Triassic saw the first appearance of many groups that would define life in the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
✓Ecosystems were still recovering from the Permian extinction, leaving many ecological niches open for new animals to fill.

Questions About the Middle Triassic

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