Dinosaurs were the dominant land animals from about 235—66 million years ago, a time spanning most of the Mesozoic Era. The Mesozoic era can be divided into three periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. Before the Mesozoic was the Palaeozoic Era, and after it, the Cenozoic. At the end of the Mesozoic Era, all dinosaurs became extinct and mammals rose to dominate the land, along with the descendants of dinosaurs – birds. This timeline shows each era, the periods it can be divided into, and some of the major groups that evolved