The Triassic is a geologic period of the Mesozoic Era spanning approximately 252 to 201 million years ago, immediately following the Permian–Triassic mass extinction and preceding the Jurassic. It is subdivided into Early, Middle, and Late Triassic epochs, characterized by the breakup initiation of the supercontinent Pangea, widespread arid continental climates, and the recovery and diversification of life. The Triassic marks the early radiation of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles, as well as the emergence of modern-style coral reefs and key evolutionary lineages among ammonoids and early mammals, setting the biotic framework for subsequent Mesozoic ecosystems.
"You want to stick your finger in a dinosaur brain?" asked Simba Srivastava. Surrounded by cabinets full of ancient bones in the paleobiology lab, the Virginia Tech undergraduate student held out a lumpy, pockmarked fossil.
Evolution
Apr 15, 2026
0
22
Between 280 and 200 million years ago, a group of animals evolved which would eventually give rise to mammals, including humans: the therapsids. They were first described more than 150 years ago, based on fossils from South ...
Evolution
Apr 12, 2026
2
3091
A remarkable new discovery is shedding light on one of the greatest survival stories in Earth's history, and answering a decades-old scientific mystery. Lystrosaurus, a hardy, plant-eating mammal ancestor, rose to prominence ...
Evolution
Apr 9, 2026
1
388
The article presenting the research results was published online at the end of February in the journal Ichnos. The study focuses on two trackways (T1 and T2) preserved as convex hyporeliefs on the underside of a Late Jurassic ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 10, 2026
0
25
A study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology describes the smallest rhynchosaur fossil ever recorded from the Brazilian Triassic, with the reconstructed skull only measuring around 2.5 cm (~1 inch). Additionally, ...
The Kimberley region in the northwest corner of Western Australia is full of rugged ranges and gorges, and long stretches of red soil and rocky ground. The dry seasons are long, and the wet seasons often flood the Martuwarra ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Feb 23, 2026
0
31
Around 250 million years ago, what is today scorching desert in remote northwestern Australia was the shore of a shallow bay bordering a vast prehistoric ocean. Fossils recovered from this region over 60 years ago, and almost ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Feb 23, 2026
0
221
A new species of crocodylomorph dating to about 215 million years ago has been described from the U.K. It has been called Galahadosuchus jonesi in recognition of David Rhys Jones, a secondary school physics teacher from Ysgol ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Feb 16, 2026
0
361
University of Queensland research has confirmed Brisbane's only dinosaur fossil is Australia's oldest, dating back to the earliest part of the Late Triassic period 230 million years ago. The 18.5-centimeter footprint was ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Feb 2, 2026
0
38
Southern Africa is world renowned for its fossil record of creatures that lived in the very distant past, including dinosaurs. But, about 182 million years ago, a huge eruption of lava covered much of the landscape (the inland ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jan 31, 2026
0
223
