Late Jurassic
Third epoch of the Jurassic Period
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In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age. In the past, Malm was also used to indicate the unit of geological time, but this usage is now discouraged to make a clear distinction between lithostratigraphic and geochronologic/chronostratigraphic units.
Subdivisions
The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three faunal stages of Upper Jurassic rock:
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Paleogeography
By the Late Jurassic, Pangaea had already broken apart into Laurasia (Eurasia and North America) to the north and Gondwana to the south, divided by the wide Tethys Ocean. During the Late Jurassic, narrow ocean basins formed separating Eastern Gondwana (Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar), Western Gondwana (Africa, Arabia and South America) and Laurasia. The young North Atlantic Ocean continues to widen as North America drifts to the north – brought increased moisture to the formerly highly arid subtropical interior of Pangaea. The Wrangellia terrane is accreted to Western North America.
Climate
Deep ocean basins covered the poles, inhibiting the formation of polar ice caps. Polar summers were ice-free. The circulation of ocean currents between the high and low latitudes contributed to a generally warmer climate than today. Europe became progressively more arid over the Late Jurassic.
Life forms
This epoch is well known for many famous types of dinosaurs, such as the sauropods, the theropods, the thyreophorans, and the ornithopods. Other animals, such as some crocodylomorphs and the first birds, appeared in the Jurassic. Listed here are only a few of the many Jurassic animals: