Terrestrial Evolutionary Biotas | Mesozoic Era | Jurassic Period | Dinosauria

The Iguanodont-Nodosaur Empire

Habitat: Terrestrial
Guild: Megavertebrate - Carnivore and Herbivore
Productivity: probably somewhat low to average
Time: Cretaceous Period - Berriasian to Cenomanian
Distribution: Laurasia
Biota: see Flora and Fauna
More info: see Links

illustration by Dr Bob Bakker, from

The Iguanodont-Nodosaur empire single most spectacular terrestrial megafauna community this planet has seen, the Sauropod-Stegosaur empire (Bakker's "Dynasty VI") lasted world-wide for some 30 to 40 million years - about half to two-thirds of the age of mammals. Although there was some turnover during that time, with more advanced families and genera replacing earlier ones, the basic "big three" of sauropods, stegosaurs, and theropods (the latter themselves being divided into ceratosaurian, megalosaurian and allosaurian) remained throughout, with Camptosaurid ornithopods only emerging towards the end. Middle-level (smaller sized) herbivors where represented by Hypsilophodont and Dryosaur bipedal ornithopod herbivores. Small mammals, lepidosaur and small crocodilian reptiles dominated the microvertebrate fauna, while vegetation consisted mainly of conifers, ferns, cycads, and bennettitales. Gynospermous plants tend to have a lower growth rate than angiosperms, and despite popular claims for dinosaur endothermy, it is more likely that this was an ecosystem with a low primary productivity and low population density of large herbivores.

Flora and Fauna

Representative giant Megafauna - Carnivores - Herbivores:
Representative medium Megafauna - Carnivores - Herbivores:
Representative Mesofauna Carnivores - Herbivores:
Associated Microvertebrate fauna
Associated Invertebrates
Flora - Arboreal Habit (Trees)
Flora - Herbaceous Habit

Representative Megafauna

Giant Carnivores

mass > 500 kg

Ceratosauridae | Megalosauridae (=Torvosauridae) | Eustreptospondylidae | Sinraptoridae | Allosauridae

Giant Herbivores:

mass > 1000 kg

Representative Megafauna

Large Carnivores

mass 50 to 500 kg

Elaphrosauridae | Marshosauridae

Large Herbivores:

mass 100 to 1000 kg

Stegosauridae | Camptosauridae

Representative Mesofauna

Medium-sized Carnivores

mass 10 to 50 kg

Coeluridae | Ornitholestidae |

Medium-sized Herbivores:

mass 10 to 100 kg

Hypsilophodontidae | Dryosauridae

Associated Microvertebrate fauna

mass < 10 kg

Terrestrial and arboreal

Sphenodonta |

Triconodonta |

Multituberculata |

Symmetrodonta |

Eupantotheria

Associated Invertebrate fauna

Associated Flora - Arboreal Habit

Conifers | Cycads | Ginkgos | Bennettitales |

Associated Flora - Herbaceous Habit

Links

Time of the Titans - the late Jurassic terrestrial megafauna, from the superb BBC series.

The Jurassic Period - 140 Million Years Ago - from American Museum of Natural History - Timelines Exhibit

Terrestrial Evolutionary Biotas | Mesozoic Era | Jurassic Period | Dinosauria

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page by M.Alan Kazlev
uploaded on 18 January 2001. Last modified 12 August 2005