Mesozoic, a. Geol.
(mɛsəʊˈzəʊɪk)
[f. Gr. µέσο-ς middle + ζῷον animal + -ic.]
The name given by Phillips to the secondary period, intermediate between the Palæozoic and the Cainozoic.
| 1840 J. Phillips in Penny Cycl. XVII. 154/1 Corresponding terms (as Palæozoic, Mesozoic, Kainozoic, &c.) may be made, nor will these necessarily require change upon every new discovery. 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent. 239 Mesozoic, Cainozoic, and Recent Corals, which occur in more than one Geological Period. 1880 Haughton Phys. Geog. vi. 269 The Marsupials of the Mesozoic strata. |