User:Abyssal/Portal:Jurassic
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Introduction
The Jurassic (/dʒʊˈræsɪk/ juurr-ASS-ik) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period 201.4 million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 145 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified.
The start of the Jurassic was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, associated with the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). The beginning of the Toarcian Stage started around 183 million years ago and is marked by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, a global episode of oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, and elevated global temperatures associated with extinctions, likely caused by the eruption of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous provinces. The end of the Jurassic, however, has no clear, definitive boundary with the Cretaceous and is the only boundary between geological periods to remain formally undefined. By the beginning of the Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea had begun rifting into two landmasses: Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. The climate of the Jurassic was warmer than the present, and there were no ice caps. Forests grew close to the poles, with large arid expanses in the lower latitudes. (Full article...) (Full article...) Selected article on the Jurassic world and its legacies
A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata which is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords. Some tunicates live as solitary individuals but others replicate by budding and become colonies, each unit being known as a zooid. They are marine filter feeders with a water-filled, sac-like body structure and two tubular openings, known as siphons, through which they draw in and expel water. During their respiration and feeding they take in water through the incurrent (or inhalant) siphon and expel the filtered water through the excurrent (or exhalant) siphon. Most adult tunicates are sessile and are permanently attached to rocks or other hard surfaces on the ocean floor; others such as salps, doliolids and pyrosomes swim in the pelagic zone of the sea as adults. Various species are commonly known as sea squirts, sea pork, sea liver or sea tulips.
The Tunicata first appear in the fossil record in the early Cambrian period. Despite their simple appearance and very different adult form, their close relationship to the vertebrates is shown by the fact that during their mobile larval stage, they possess a notochord or stiffening rod and resemble a tadpole. Their name derives from their unique outer covering or "tunic" which is formed from proteins and carbohydrates and acts as an exoskeleton. In some species it is thin, translucent and gelatinous while in others it is thick, tough and stiff. (see more...) Selected article on the Jurassic in human science, culture and economics
Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy, publishing his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen. Cope later married and moved from Philadelphia to Haddonfield, New Jersey, although Cope would maintain a residence and museum in Philadelphia in his later years.
Cope had little formal scientific training, and he eschewed a teaching position for field work. He made regular trips to the American West prospecting in the 1870s and 1880s, often as a member of United States Geological Survey teams. A personal feud between Cope and paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh led to a period of intense fossil-finding competition now known as the Bone Wars. Cope's financial fortunes soured after failed mining ventures in the 1880s. He experienced a resurgence in his career toward the end of his life before dying in 1897. Cope's scientific pursuits nearly bankrupted him, but his contributions helped to define the field of American paleontology. He was a prodigious writer, with 1,400 papers published over his lifetime, although his rivals would debate the accuracy of his rapidly published works. He discovered, described, and named more than 1,000 vertebrate species including hundreds of fishes and dozens of dinosaurs. His proposals on the origin of mammalian molars and for the gradual enlargement of mammalian species over geologic time ("Cope's Law") are notable among his theoretical contributions. (see more...) Selected image
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Need help?Do you have a question about Abyssal/Portal:Jurassic that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk. GeochronologyEpochs - Early Jurassic - Middle Jurassic - Late Jurassic Landmasses - Baltica - Gondwana - Laurentia - Siberia Fossil sites - Beecher's Trilobite Bed - Walcott–Rust quarry Researchers - Charles Emerson Beecher - Charles Lapworth - Charles Doolittle Walcott Quality ContentFeatured Mesozoic articles - Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards - Bone Wars - Edward Drinker Cope - Geology of the Capitol Reef area - Geology of the Death Valley area -Geology of the Grand Canyon area - Geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area Good Mesozoic articles - Chitinozoan - Coal ball - Dimetrodon - History of paleontology - Evolutionary history of life - Ornatifilum - Opabinia - Paleontology- Schinderhannes - Small shelly fauna - Temnospondyli - Tiktaalik - Waptia SubcategoriesRelated content
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