Jurassic Period

Introduction
The Jurassic environment
- Paleogeography
- Paleoclimate
Jurassic life
- Marine life
  - Protists and invertebrates
  - Vertebrates
- Terrestrial life
  - Invertebrates
  - Vertebrates
- Plants
Jurassic geology
- Economic significance of Jurassic deposits
- Major subdivisions of the Jurassic System
- Occurrence and distribution of Jurassic rocks
  - North America
  - Eurasia and Gondwana
  - Ocean basins

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

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The Lufengosaurus fossil: The oldest soft tissue ever found?

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At a Glance

Jurassic Period summary

Quizzes

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Science Quiz

36 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Science Quizzes

Related Questions

How did Alexandre Brongniart choose the name Jurassic Period?
How did Jurassic black shales form in European marine basins?
How did Jurassic rifting help begin the formation of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico?
How did Jurassic rock layers preserve fossils in the Morrison Formation?
How did coccolithophores and foraminifera change deep-sea sediments during the Jurassic?
How did continental rifting separate Africa and South America from Antarctica, India, and Madagascar?
How did early Jurassic mammals differ from the large mammals of later times?
How did island arcs and microcontinents add land to North America during the Jurassic Period?
How did the Mesozoic Marine Revolution change Jurassic seafloor ecosystems?
How did the Navajo Sandstone form in the western interior of North America?
How did the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction affect marine invertebrates?
How do Jurassic salt deposits and coal deposits provide clues about ancient rainfall?
How do warm-adapted plant fossils reveal the extent of Jurassic tropical climates?
How is the Jurassic Period divided into the Early, Middle, and Late Jurassic epochs?
How may low-oxygen seas have contributed to the Early Jurassic extinction event?
How quickly did marine life recover after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction?
How was Archaeopteryx similar to both birds and dinosaurs?
How were saurischian dinosaurs different from ornithischian dinosaurs?
What dates mark the Early Jurassic Epoch?
What dates mark the Late Jurassic Epoch?
What evidence suggests flowering plants may have existed during the Jurassic Period?
What kinds of sediments were deposited in the Carmel and Sundance seas?
What may have caused global sea levels to rise from the Early to Late Jurassic?
When did the Jurassic Period begin and end?
When did the earliest birds appear in the fossil record?
When were Jurassic global temperatures coolest and warmest?
Where does the Jurassic Period fit within the Mesozoic Era?
Which geologic period came before the Jurassic Period?
Which geologic period followed the Jurassic Period?
Which geologic stages make up the Early Jurassic Epoch?
Which geologic stages make up the Late Jurassic Epoch?
Which geologic stages make up the Middle Jurassic Epoch?
Which modern continents formed Gondwana during the Jurassic Period?
Which modern continents formed the northern landmass called Laurasia during the Jurassic Period?
Which organisms built Jurassic reefs besides corals?
Why are Middle Jurassic oceanic crust and sediments often the oldest rocks remaining on the deep seafloor?
Why are ammonites useful for dating and correlating Jurassic rock layers?
Why did more Jurassic marine organisms begin burrowing deeper into seafloor sediment?
Why did shallow seaways cover parts of continents during the Jurassic Period?
Why has the Jurassic Period been called the Age of Cycads?
Why is it difficult to set global boundaries for some Jurassic stages?
Why is the Solnhofen Limestone important for studying Jurassic fossils?
Why is the size of the extinction at the end of the Jurassic Period debated?
Why might volcanic activity and seafloor spreading have warmed the Jurassic climate?

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External Websites

Carnegie Museum of Natural History - Folded Forest: Defining the Jurassic Period
Natural History Museum - Jurassic Period
Encyclopedia of Alabama - Jurassic Period
LiveScience - Jurassic Period Facts
University of California Museum of Paleontology - The Jurassic Period
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Did flowering plants exist in the Jurassic period?
Natural History Museum - The Jurassic Period: How did dinosaurs go from basal to bulky?
National Park Service - Jurassic Periodï¿½201.3 to 145.0 MYA

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Jurassic Period - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Jurassic Period

geochronology

Also known as: Age of Cycads

Written by

Carol Marie Tang

Senior Science Educator, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco.

Carol Marie Tang

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 11, 2026 •History

Jurassic Period, second of three periods of the Mesozoic Era. Extending from 201.3 million to 145 million years ago, it immediately followed the Triassic Period (251.9 million to 201.3 million years ago) and was succeeded by the Cretaceous Period (145 million to 66 million years ago). The Morrison Formation of the United States and the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, both famous for their exceptionally well-preserved fossils, are geologic features that were formed during Jurassic times....

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