Aust - Rhaetian

Triassic

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE: Sea levels very low. Graywacke shale, siliceous and Red desert sandstone deposits, arid climate over most of land Pangaea begins to split. Atlantic Ocean opens up.

TERRESTRIAL ANIMAL LIFE: Reptiles dominant, including the ancestors of the dinosaurs and mammals.

PLANT LIFE: Gymnosperms such as ferns, cycads, gingko's and conifers.

SEA LIFE: Ammonites dominate the seas, Bivalves and Brachiopods are locally abundant but generally rare. All other major invertebrate groups are rare of missing.