FOCUS Book

When real scientists make a new discovery, they may

conduct a scientific argument with peers to discuss
what they found. Suppose you discovered a fossilized
skeleton of an unknown creature from the Jurassic
Period. Imagine the features of this skeleton, including
the type of teeth, the size and shape of the skull, and
the size and shape of the limbs. Draw a detailed sketch
of this skeleton and trade sketches with a classmate.

Looking at your classmate’s skeleton drawing, try to

determine what the animal was like when it was alive.
Was it a plant eater or meat eater? How can you tell?
Did it walk, swim, or fly? Why do you think so? Describe
in writing your classmate’s animal on the basis of
inferences you made about the skeleton. Then discuss
your findings with your classmate and see if you agree
about each other’s discovery.

Beyond the Book

Visit a natural history museum, or a museum
website, to view fossils and lifelike models
of creatures from the Jurassic Period.
 T he Jurassic Period
Imagine if you could open a PANGAEA BECOMES THE
MODERN CONTINENTS
door and suddenly step into
the time of dinosaurs. You
would find a very different

A
AE
Equator
world. The Jurassic Period

G
N
PA
was a time in Earth’s history
that lasted from about 200 Permian Period
to 145 million years ago. (250 million years ago)

The air was hot and moist,

FOCUS Question similar to the air in today’s Laurasia

How do extinct food chains compare Amazon rainforest.

to food chains of today? Pangaea—a single, huge Equator Tethys
Sea
Patterns continent—was breaking Gondwana

apart into the continents

Photo Credits:
Front cover: © Paul D. Stewart/Science Source; icons (used throughout): © Jupiterimages Corporation; pages
we know today.
3 (top), 6 (bottom), 8 (bottom): © De Agostini Picture Library/Bridgeman Images; page 3 (bottom): © Richard Jurassic Period
Bizley/Science Source; page 4 (left): © Ken Lucas/Visuals Unlimited/Corbis; page 4 (right): © Scott Camazine/
Alamy; pages 5 (left), 6 (top): © Roger Harris/Science Source; page 5 (right): © trevkitt/iStock/Thinkstock; Earth was very different (145 million years ago)
page 6 (center): © gsagi/iStock/Thinkstock; page 7 (main): © Jaime Chirinos/Science Source; page 7 (inset):
© Ihar Byshniou/iStock/Thinkstock; page 8 (top): © Tobias Bernhard/Corbis; page 9 (left): © USO/iStock/ during the Jurassic Period.
Thinkstock; page 9 (right): © DeAgostini/DeAgostini/Superstock
North
But just like today, the America
Europe Asia
Illustration Credit:
Page 2: Signe Nordin/© Learning A–Z
plants and animals that Africa Equator
South
lived during that time America
Antarctica
belonged to food chains.
Reading Levels
Jurassic Food Chains
Learning A–Z T
Living things were either Present
© Learning A–Z
Written by Charles Piddock Lexile 960L producers or consumers, During the Jurassic Period, the
landmasses that became today’s
All rights reserved.
and each represented a link continents were much closer
in a now-extinct food chain. together and were separated
www.sciencea-z.com by warm, shallow seas.
2
Jurassic Life Links in the C hain
During the Jurassic Period, moist The structure of food chains during the Jurassic Period
air, fertile soil, and strong sunlight was similar to modern-day food chains. Each living thing
produced thick jungles that had a niche (can rhyme with hitch or leash)—a specific
covered vast areas of Earth. role within the environment. Some were producers that
Plants called cycads (SY-kadz) provided energy to primary consumers. Small primary
Herbivores consumed
were especially common. Lush the lush plant life of the
consumers ate plants low to the ground. Taller herbivores
plant life (producers) supported Jurassic Period. ate leaves high in the treetops.
large plant-eating dinosaurs. Insects were abundant.
Secondary consumers were predators; they ate primary
They provided food for mouselike creatures that lived in
consumers. The top predators ate many types of
dense forests. In the late Jurassic Period, the feathered
consumers, so they influenced many food chains.
dinosaur, Archaeopteryx, took to the skies. It was a
Let’s learn about a few Jurassic animals and the niche
consumer that ate lizards, frogs, and beetles.
that each one occupied in its own food chain.
Jurassic oceans were warm and teeming with life.
Microscopic plankton provided food for fish and many
other sea creatures. Coral reefs grew in the warm Scientists are able to infer what dinosaurs ate by
waters, and snails, mollusks, and fish flourished. Top examining fossil skulls and teeth. Plant eaters had short,
flat teeth designed for grinding up leaves and other
predators, such as paddle-finned plesiosaurs and giant
vegetable matter. Meat eaters had strong, sharp
marine crocodiles, teeth suited for tearing flesh.
ruled the sea.

Jurassic seas
supported many
different species herbivore carnivore
Artist’s rendering
of organisms.

Food Chains • Jurassic Food Chains 3 4

Primary C onsumers Stegosaurus (STEG-uh-SORE-us) was a large dinosaur
that weighed about 4,500 kilograms (10,000 lb.). It was
Some of the largest animals to ever live were sauropod an herbivore that fed on plants close to the ground.
(SORE-uh-pod) dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period. One such Because it had a short neck, it most likely ate mosses,
dinosaur was Brachiosaurus (BRACK-ee-uh-SORE-us). This ferns, and low-growing cycads. Along its back, this
massive creature stood up to 16 meters (52 ft.) tall and dinosaur had a double row of plates; no one knows the
was 26 meters (85 ft.) long. An adult could weigh more purpose. Perhaps they protected the animal from meat-
than 75,000 kilograms (165,000 lb.). For comparison, the eating secondary consumers.
largest elephant weighs “only” 7,000 kg (15,000 lb.).

Brachiosaurus had a long neck that allowed it to eat

vegetation from the tops of lush trees such as tree ferns
and cycads. Despite its enormous size, this dinosaur most
likely traveled in herds for protection from predators.
Stegosaurus

Artist’s rendering

Modern deer fill a similar niche

to Stegosaurus in the Jurassic
Period, eating from low-growing
white-tailed deer
trees and shrubs.

Dinosaurs were the dominant land

animals during the Jurassic Period.
But hiding among the leaf litter on
Artist’s rendering
sauropods giraffe the forest floor were small, furry
Modern giraffes fill a similar niche in food chains to Brachiosaurus mammals that ate insects. Morganucodon
during the Jurassic Period, eating vegetation from the tops of trees.

Food Chains • Jurassic Food Chains 5 6

Secondar y C onsumers Metriorhynchus (MEH-tree-oh-RINK-us) was a Jurassic sea
creature shaped much like a large crocodile. Fossils show
Ceratosaurus (suh-RAT-uh-SORE-us) was a powerful that this dinosaur was about 3 meters (10 ft.) long. It was
medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur. It was about completely adapted to a marine environment. It had large
6 meters (20 ft.) long and weighed up to 950 kilograms paddle-like fins and a smooth, streamlined body.
(2,100 lb.).
This carnivorous dinosaur
This predator walked on two strong legs. It used its huge fed on a wide variety of
hind claws and smaller front claws as killing weapons. animals, including fish and
It had long, sharp teeth to grab and tear meat. It ate other sea life. While fearsome,
other dinosaurs and may have also hunted in the water Metriorhynchus was not a
to catch fish. Fossil tracks show that Ceratosaurus might top predator. It was preyed
have hunted in packs. This kind of cooperative hunting upon by an animal even higher
allows animals to capture more or larger prey than when on the food chain.
hunting alone.

Artist’s rendering

saltwater
Ceratosaurus
crocodile

Wolves occupy a similar niche

Metriorhynchus
to Ceratosaurus during the Artist’s rendering

Jurassic Period, hunting in Modern-day crocodiles occupy a similar niche to Metriorhynchus in

packs to bring down prey. wolves the Jurassic Period, hunting for aquatic animals.

Food Chains • Jurassic Food Chains 7 8

 Artist’s rendering

Write your answers on separate paper. Use details from

the text as evidence.
1 Using details from the text, list two ways in which
Earth was different during the Jurassic Period than
it is today.
great white shark 2 What is a niche, and how does it relate to food chains?
3 Sauropods were the largest animals ever to walk
Great white sharks occupy a on Earth. Using what you learned about Earth
similar niche to Liopleurodon
during the Jurassic Period. during the Jurassic Period, why do you suppose
They are both apex predators they became so large?
Liopleurodon
in their food chains.
4 Fossil evidence shows that Ceratosaurus hunted
Ter tiar y C onsumer in packs. What advantage did hunting in groups
give them?
Liopleurodon (LY-oh-PLOOR-uh-don) was the Jurassic
5 Using examples from the book, describe a typical
Period’s top ocean predator. It ranged in length from 5
Jurassic food chain.
to 7 meters (16–23 ft.). It was considered an apex predator
because no other animals preyed upon it. Liopleurodon
used its strong fins to zoom through the water, chasing FOCUS Question
down Metriorhynchus, sharks, and anything else in its How do extinct food chains compare to food
path. Fossil skulls of Liopleurodon show that it had chains of today? Describe at least two ways that
extremely strong jaw muscles to clamp down on prey. food chains of the Jurassic Period were similar
to food chains today. Then describe
Many different food chains existed during the Jurassic
at least two ways they were different.
Period. While the animals have changed, the important
links in food chains have remained similar across the ages.
Food Chains • Jurassic Food Chains 9 10