Commemorative issue Prehistoric Life, Triassic - Life in the water
The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic.
The start of the Triassic period was a desolate time in Earth's history. Something—a bout of violent volcanic eruptions, climate change, or perhaps a fatal run-in with a comet or asteroid—had triggered the extinction of more than 90 percent of Earth's species.
Cephalopoda exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Nautiluses are the only extant cephalopods with a true external shell. Ichthyosaurs thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on fossil evidence, they first appeared around 250 million years ago and at least one species survived until about 90 million years ago, into the Late Cretaceous. During the Early Triassic epoch, ichthyosaurs and other ichthyosauromorphs evolved from a group of unidentified land reptiles that returned to the sea.
OBVERSE: An extinct sea-dwelling cephalopod shown in both live and fossilised form and the timeline of triassic (251 Mio - 200 Mio)
Lettering: 2013 REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH 20 EURO 251 MIO 200 MIO TRIAS
Engraver: Helmut Andexlinge
REVERSE: An Ichthyosaurus with an ammonite in its jaws and a Nothosaurus swimming
Engraver: Herbert Wähner
EDGE: Reeded
Original Box: ECHTHEITSZERTIFIKAT LEBENDIGE URZEIT TRIAS - LEBEN IM WASSER
20-EURO-SILBERMÜNZE POLIERTE PLATTE/PROOF MÜNZE OSTEREICH
Translation: CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY LIVING PRIME TIME TRIAS - LIFE IN WATER 20 EURO SILVER COIN PROOF/PROOF COIN AUSTRIA