Triassic–Jurassic extinction

A mass extinction about 201 million years ago that eliminated many marine and terrestrial species, ending the Triassic Period and opening the Jurassic.

Central Atlantic Magmatic Province: A vast region of flood basalts formed as the supercontinent Pangaea began to break apart. Its eruptions coincided with the extinction and released gases capable of disrupting climate and oceans.
End-Triassic extinction event: The boundary event in which major losses of species occurred at the end of the Triassic. This event is the extinction itself, recorded in rocks near the Triassic–Jurassic boundary.
Ammonite: An extinct marine cephalopod with a coiled external shell, common in the fossil record. Ammonites suffered substantial losses but diversified during the Jurassic recovery.
Pangaea: A supercontinent that assembled most of Earth’s landmasses during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. The supercontinent was beginning to rift as CAMP volcanism and the extinction unfolded.
Mass extinction: A geologically brief interval in which an unusually large share of species becomes extinct worldwide. Comparing this event with other mass extinctions clarifies its scale and selectivity.
Flood basalt: A large igneous province formed when repeated eruptions spread extensive layers of basalt across the land. The extinction is associated with an unusually large episode of flood-basalt volcanism.
Conodont: An extinct group of jawless vertebrates known chiefly from microscopic tooth-like fossils. Conodonts disappeared at the boundary, providing a marker of late Triassic marine loss.
Marine reptile: A reptile lineage adapted to life in the sea, including groups such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Marine reptiles diversified in the changing seas after the extinction.
Rifting: The stretching and fracturing of continental lithosphere that can lead to the formation of ocean basins. Rifting along Pangaea’s margins accompanied emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province.
Paleoclimate: Earth’s climate in the geological past, reconstructed from rocks, fossils, and chemical records. Climate records test how rapidly warming and rainfall changed across the boundary.

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