The Cenozoic Era http://bluepyramid.org/ia/woolmamm.jpg

1
The Cenozoic Era
http//bluepyramid.org/ia/woolmamm.jpg
Christy Stock, Madison Cooley, Katie Schmittauer
2
65 Ma to Present The Cenozoic spans only about 65
million years, from the end of the Cretaceous and
the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs to the
present. The Cenozoic is sometimes called the Age
of Mammals, because mammals dominate the era.
Photo Link http//p.vtourist.com/2348861-West_tex
as_cave_drawings-Texas.jpg
The two time periods within the Cenozoic Era were
previously known as the Tertiary and the
Quaternary Periods, but are now known as the
Paleogene and Neogene Periods.
3
Paleogene Period 66.5-23.03 Ma The name
Paleogene means Ancient-born. This is
because the animals on earth became more, but not
completely, modernized during the Paleogene
period.  
http//www.leloir.org.ar/espanol/paginas/Muestras/
CyT/-La_Evolucion-/Antepasados/Gondwana20y20Laur
asia.jpg
http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Paleogene.html
4
The First Epoch of the Paleogene Period

• Paleocene 66.5Ma 55.8Ma
• The Paleogene epoch immediately followed the mass
  extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. This
  time division is known as the K-T Boundary.
• The continents continued to drift North America
  and Greenland began to separate. The Rocky
  Mountains began to form.
• Gondwanaland continued to split Africa, South
  America, Australia and Antarctica continued to
  pull apart.
• Warm temperatures gave rise to forests that
  covered the globe, including the rise of the
  first recognizable rainforest.
• Earlier mammals had been small and nocturnal. Due
  to the
• extinction of the dinosaurs, they all grew bigger
  and more ferocious, although they still had
  extremely small brains and no specialized teeth
  or limbs. Reptiles became smaller, birds began
  to diversify into different types.

Photo Link http//www.kamcom.co.nz/kiwi/Gondwanal
and.gif
5
The Second Epoch of the Paleogene Period

• Eocene 55.8 Ma - 33.9 Ma
• Emergence of the first modern mammals.
• Began with extreme global warming known as the
  Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum.
• Australia and Antarctica began to split apart,
  and Laurasia began to become north America,
  Greenland, and Europe. The Alps reached their
  full height.
• The entire earth was almost completely covered in
  rainforests, including Antarctica.

• Primates began to develop teeth and limbs. The
  very first hoofed mammals emerged, as well as
  early forms of bats and marsupials. The earliest
  forms of whales appeared at this time.
• When the Grande Coupure, some sort of meteor or
  asteroid, collided into Siberia, it formed
  Chesapeake Bay and caused a mass extinction event
  and marking the end of the Paleogene Period.

oto.blox.pl/resource/laurasia.jpg
6
The Last Epoch of the Paleogene Period

• Oligocene 34 Ma - 23 Ma
• The warm climate gradually cooled into an ice
  age.
• The expansion of grass begins to replace the
  forests, reptiles began to modernize and becoming
  more diverse.
• Water animals, such as whales and sharks
  continued to develop and the oceans in some
  places began to cool, i.e. Antarctica.

http//gogreen.net.nz/images/products/barley/barle
y-grass.jpg
7
The Neogene Period 23 Ma - Present

• The name neogene means new birth. This is
  because the Neogene period is the time that
  continues to today.

http//www.scienceclarified.com/images/uesc_06_img
0297.jpg
8
The First Epoch of the Neogene Period The Miocene
Epoch - 23 Ma to 5.33 Ma

• Lasting 18 million years, this epoch marks the
  end of old prehistoric world and the beginning of
  a more recent world. The Miocene also had a
  warmer climate than the epochs before and after.
• Kelp forests and grasslands appeared during the
  Miocene epoch.
• Antarctica became isolated. African-Arabian plate
  joined to Asia and a number of animal migrations
  took place.

http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Miocene/Miocene.ht
m
9
The Second Epoch of the Neogene Period The
Pliocene Epoch - 5.3Ma to 1.8 Ma

• It was a time of global cooling. This may have
  contributed to the spread of grasslands and
  savannahs.
• Continents had taken their present day positions,
  the Mediterranean Sea dried up, and India
  collided with Asia bringing forth the Himalayan
  mountains

• The epoch marked the beginning of large ice caps,
  especially in Antarctica. The ocean cooled and in
  the northern hemisphere there was a gradual
  southward migration of marine invertebrates.
• The large-brained australopithecine Homo habilis
  continued on into the Early Pleistocene, giving
  rise to Homo erectus , the common ancestor of
  both Neanderthal and modern man during the late
  Pleistocene.

http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Pliocene/Pliocene.
htm
10
The Third Epoch of the Neogene Period The
Pleistocene Epoch - 1.81 to 0.012 Ma

• During the Pleistocene the first true Ice Age
  hit. The sea level rose during the melting of the
  glaciers, then dropped again during the next
  period of glacier formation. The lowered sea
  levels formed land bridges that enabled the
  migration of animals and humans across
  continents.
• Animals were at their heights, and mammals
  dominated the globe, although they were living in
  unusual places, for instance hippos and elephants
  in modern-day London.
• During the Pleistocene the hominid tendency to
  increase brain size and hence intelligence
  continued.

http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Pleistocene/Pleist
ocene.htm
11
The Third Epoch of the Neogene Period The
Holocene Epoch - The Last 12,000 Years
http//www.math.montana.edu/nmp/materials/ess/atm
osphere/advanced/activities/andrew/hurricane.andre
w.globe.gif

• The boundary between the Pleistocene and the
  recent is set at around 10,000 years BCE (12,000
  years ago), which represented a marked climatic
  warming phase and the beginning of the present
  warm period between glaciations.
• This age has witnessed the rise of civilization. 
  The ten thousand years of its extent are too
  short to see much in the way of the evolution of
  species and ecosystems, but natural processes of
  erosion and sedimentation have been supplemented
  by human activities and geographical impacts the
  rise of towns, fields, roads, etc.  And there has
  been a growth in human population and
  knowledge.   

http//www.rural-roads.co.uk/m45/pic/m45_15sml.jpg
http//www.wilderdom.com/images/evolution/8.jpg
12
Resources
General Information about the Cenozoic Era
http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cenozoic/cenozoic.htm
l Information about the Paleocene Epoch
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleocene Information
about the Eocene Epoch http//en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Eocene Information about the Oligocene Epoch
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligocene Information
about the Neocene Time Period
http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Neogene.html Infor
mation about the Miocene Epoch
http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Miocene/Miocene.ht
m Information about the Pliocene Epoch
http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Pliocene/Pliocene.
htm Information about the Pleistocene Epoch
http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Pleistocene/Pleist
ocene.htm Information about the Holocene Epoch
http//www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Holocene/Holocene.
htm
Picture Link http//www.dot.co.pima.az.us/gis/tr
ip/grass.jpg