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Why has the Jurassic Period been called the Age of Cycads?
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Jurassic Period
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins during the late Jurassic Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
The Jurassic Period is frequently referred to as the "Age of Cycads" because of the widespread proliferation and dominance of cycads and their extinct relatives, the cycadeoids, within terrestrial ecosystems during that time.12
These palmlike gymnosperms thrived alongside conifers and ginkgos, forming a significant portion of the vegetation. While cycads and cycadeoids are distinct groups, both were highly successful and abundant throughout the Jurassic, leading botanists to characterize the era by their prevalence. Their dominance in the fossil record reflects a period when these plants were a primary component of the global flora, paralleling the rise of the dinosaurs.123