Mammals are the dominant creatures of Cenozoic.

The Cenozoic (also Caenozoic or Cainozoic) Era (pronounced /ˌsiːnəˈzoʊɪk/, /ˌsɛn-/) (, meaning "new life" (Greek καινός (kainos), "new", and ζωή (zoe), "life"), is the most recent of the three classic geological eras. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly It covers the 65. 5 million years since the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that marked the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and the end of the Mesozoic Era. The Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, which occurred approximately ( Ma) was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant species in a geologically The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. The Cenozoic era is ongoing.

Subdivision

The Cenozoic is divided into two periods, the Paleogene and Neogene, and they are in turn divided into epochs. The Paleogene (alternatively Palaeogene) is a geologic period and system that began 65 The Neogene is a geologic period and system starting 2303 ± 0 The Paleogene consists of the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs, and the Neogene consists of the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene epochs, the last of which is ongoing. The Paleocene or Palaeocene, "early dawn of the recent" is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65 The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene period and extends from about 33 The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts is the period in the Geologic timescale that extends The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC Historically, the Cenozoic has been divided into periods (or sub-eras) named the Tertiary (Paleocene through Pliocene) and Quaternary (Pleistocene and Holocene). The chuprichondira geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non- avian Dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately Overview The term Quaternary ("fourth" was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po river valley in northern

Tectonics

Geologically, the Cenozoic is the era when the continents moved into their current positions. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions Australia-New Guinea split from Gondwana and drifted north and, eventually, adjacent to South-east Asia; Antarctica moved into its current position over the South Pole; the Atlantic Ocean widened and, later in the era, South America became attached to North America. Gondwana (ɡɒnˈdwɑːnə originally Gondwanaland) was a southern Supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Ma ago The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a

India collided with Asia between 55 and 45 million years ago; Arabia collided with Eurasia, closing the Tethys ocean, around 35 million years ago. The Tethys Ocean was a Mesozoic era Ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia before the opening of the Indian ^[4]

Climate

The Cenozoic has been a period of long-term cooling. In the early Cenozoic, particulate ejecta from the K-T boundary impact blocked incoming solar radiation. The K-T boundary is a geological signature usually a thin band dated to 65 After the tectonic creation of Drake Passage, when Australia fully detached from Antarctica during the Oligocene, the climate cooled significantly due to the advent of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current which brought cool deep Antarctic water to the surface. The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces -Sea of " Hoces "- is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene period and extends from about 33 The Antarctic Circumpolar Current ( ACC) is an Ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. Warm conditions returned in the Miocene due to uncovered gas hydrates releasing carbon dioxide. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single When South America became attached to North America creating the Isthmus of Panama, the Arctic region cooled due to the strengthening of the Humboldt and Gulf Stream currents, eventually leading to the Last Glacial Maximum. The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific The Humboldt Current is a cold low- Salinity Ocean current that flows north-westward along the west coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM refers to the time of maximum extent of the Ice sheets during the last Glaciation (the Würm or Wisconsin glaciation) approximately

Life

The Cenozoic is the age of new life. During the Cenozoic, mammals diverged from a few small, simple, generalized forms into a diverse collection of terrestrial, marine, and flying animals. The Cenozoic is just as much the age of savannas, or the age of co-dependent flowering plants and insects. A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Birds also evolved substantially in the Cenozoic. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs.

Monte Bolca is an important lagerstätte near Verona, Italy, containing excellently preserved fish and other fossils of Eocene age. Bolca is a village in the Veneto, on the southern margin of the Italian Alps. A Lagerstätte ( German; literally place of storage; plural Lagerstätten) is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossil The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in

See also

• Geologic Time Scale
• K-T Boundary

References

Bibliography

• British Caenozoic Fossils, 1975, The Natural History Museum, London.
• Geologic Time, by Henry Roberts.