Ecosystems recovered from mass extinction as the first dinosaurs and mammals appeared. Pangaea was a single giant landmass, and an end-Triassic extinction paved the way for dinosaur dominance.
Explore the Triassic Earth in 3D →"The Great Dying" — the largest extinction in history, eliminating ~96% of all species. Caused primarily by massive volcanism of the Siberian Traps, nearly resetting Earth's ecosystems.
Small bipedal dinosaurs appeared in the mid-Triassic. After the end-Triassic extinction, they rose to dominance in the Jurassic.
Small nocturnal mammal ancestors appeared. They survived for 160 million years in small niches while dinosaurs dominated.
A major asteroid impact in the Late Triassic, leaving a crater over 100 km across in present-day Quebec. One of the best-preserved impact structures on Earth, clearly visible from orbit. A direct link to the end-Triassic extinction remains uncertain.