Cenozoic

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Cenozoic Era
66 - 0 million years ago

Events of the Cenozoic

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Mesozoic
Paleogene
Neogene
Quaternary

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Phanerozoic
An approximate timescale of key Cenozoic events.
Axis scale: Ma before present.

The Cenozoic Era (/sinzok, s-/;[1][2] also Cnozoic, Caenozoic or Cainozoic /kan
zok, ke-/;[3][4] meaning "new life", from Greek kainos "new", and zoe "life"[5]) is the
current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras, following the Mesozoic
Era and covering the period from 66 million years ago to present day.
The Cenozoic is also known as the Age of Mammals, because the extinction of many groups
allowed mammals to greatly diversify.
Early in the Cenozoic, following the K-Pg event, the planet was dominated by relatively small
fauna, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. From a geological perspective,
it did not take long for mammals and birds to greatly diversify in the absence of the large reptiles
that had dominated during the Mesozoic. Some flightless birds grew larger than the average
human. These species are sometimes referred to as "terror birds," and were formidable
predators. Mammals came to occupy almost every available niche (both marine and terrestrial),
and some also grew very large, attaining sizes not seen in most of today's terrestrial mammals.
Climate-wise, the Earth had begun a drying and cooling trend, culminating in the glaciations of
the Pleistocene Epoch, and partially offset by thePaleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. The
continents also began looking roughly familiar at this time and moved into their current positions.
Contents
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1Subdivisions
o

1.1Paleogene

1.2Neogene

1.3Quaternary

2Tectonics

3Climate

4Life

5See also

6References

7Bibliography

8External links

Subdivisions[edit]
The Cenozoic is divided into three periods: The Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary; and
seven epochs: The Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene,Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene,
and Holocene. The Quaternary Period was officially recognized by the International Commission
on Stratigraphy in June 2009,[6] and the formerTertiary Period was officially disused in 2004
because of the necessity to divide the Cenozoic into periods more like that of the previous
Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.[7][why?] The common use of epochs during the Cenozoic
helps paleontologists better organize and group the many significant events that occurred during
this comparatively short interval of time. There is also more detailed knowledge of this era than
any other because of the relatively young strata associated with it.

Paleogene[edit]
The Paleogene spans from the extinction of the dinosaurs, some 66 million years ago, to the
dawn of the Neogene twenty three million years ago. It features three epochs:
thePaleocene, Eocene and Oligocene.

Basilosaurus

The Paleocene ranged from 65 million to 55 million years ago. The Paleocene is a transitional
point between the devastation that is the K-T extinction, to the rich jungles environment that is
the Early Eocene. The Early Paleocene saw the recovery of the earth. The continents began to
take their modern shape, but all continents (and India) were separated from each other. AfroEurasia was separated by theTethys Sea, and the Americas were separated by the strait of
Panama, as the isthmus had not yet formed. This epoch featured a general warming trend, with
jungles eventually reaching the poles. The oceans were dominated by sharks as the large
reptiles that had once ruled went extinct. Archaic mammals filled the world such
as creodonts and early primates that evolved during the Mesozoic, and as a result, there was
nothing over 10 kilograms. Mammals were still quite small. [8]
The Eocene Epoch ranged from 55 million years to 33 million years ago. In the Early-Eocene, life
was small and lived in cramped jungles, much like the Paleocene. There was nothing over the
weight of 10 kilograms.[9] Among them were early primates, whales and horses along with many
other early forms of mammals. At the top of the food chains were huge birds, such as Gastornis.
It is the only time that birds ruled the world (excluding their ancestors, the dinosaurs). The
temperature was 30 degrees Celsius with little temperature gradient from pole to pole. In the MidEocene, the circum-Antarctic current between Australia and Antarctica formed which disrupted
ocean currents worldwide and as a result caused a global cooling effect, shrinking the jungles.
This allowed mammals to grow to mammoth proportions, such as whales which, by that time,
were almost fully aquatic. Mammals like Andrewsarchus were at the top of the food-chain and
sharks were replaced by whales such as Basilosaurus as rulers of the seas. The Late Eocene
saw the rebirth of seasons, which caused the expansion of savanna-like areas, along with the
evolution of grass.[10][11]

The Oligocene Epoch spans from 33 million to 23 million years ago. The Oligocene featured the
expansion of grass which had led to many new species to evolve, including the first elephants,
cats, dogs, marsupials and many other species still prevalent today. Many other species of plants
evolved in this period too, such as the evergreen trees. A cooling period was still in effect and
seasonal rains were as well. Mammals still continued to grow larger and larger. Paraceratherium,
the largest land mammal to ever live evolved during this period, along with
many perissodactyls in an event known as the Grande Coupure.[12]

Neogene[edit]

Animals of the Miocene (Chalicotherium, Hyenadon,Entelodont...). Mammals are the dominant terrestrial
vertebrates of the Cenozoic.

The Neogene spans from 23 million to 3 million years ago, and is the shortest geological period
in the Phanerozoic Eon. It features 2 epochs: the Miocene, and the Pliocene.[13]
The Miocene spans from 23 to 5 million years ago and is a period in which grass spread further
across, effectively dominating a large portion of the world, diminishing forests in the process.
Kelp forests evolved, leading to new species such as sea otters to evolve. During this
time, perissodactyls thrived, and evolved into many different varieties. Alongside them were the
apes, which evolved into a staggering 30 species. Overall, arid and mountainous land dominated
most of the world, as did grazers. The Tethys Sea finally closed with the creation of the Arabian
Peninsula and in its wake left the Black, Red, Mediterranean and Caspian Seas. This only
increased aridity. Many new plants evolved, and 95% of modern seed plants evolved in the midMiocene.[14]
The Pliocene lasted from 5 to 2 million years ago. The Pliocene featured dramatic climactic
changes, which ultimately lead to modern species and plants. The Mediterranean Sea dried up
for several million years. Along with these major geological events, Australopithecusevolved in
Africa, beginning the human branch. The isthmus of Panama formed, and animals migrated
between North and South America, wreaking havoc on the local ecology. Climatic changes
brought savannas that are still continuing to spread across the world, Indian monsoons, deserts
in East Asia, and the beginnings of the Sahara desert. The earth's continents and seas moved
into their present shapes. The world map has not changed much since. [15][16]

Quaternary[edit]
The Quaternary spans from 3 million to present day, and features modern animals, and dramatic
changes in the climate. It is divided into two epochs: the Pleistocene and the Holocene.

Megafauna of the Pleistocene (mammoths, cave lions, woolly rhino,Megaloceros, American horses)

The Pleistocene lasted from 3 million to 12,000 years ago. This epoch was marked by ice ages
as a result of the cooling trend that started in the Mid-Eocene. There were at least four separate
glaciation periods marked by the advance of ice caps as far south as 40 degrees N latitude in
mountainous areas. Meanwhile, Africa experienced a trend of desiccation which resulted in the
creation of the Sahara, Namib, and Kalahari deserts. Many animals evolved
including mammoths, giant ground sloths, dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, and most
famously Homo sapiens. 100,000 years ago marked the end of one of the worst droughts of
Africa, and led to the expansion of primitive man. As the Pleistocene drew to a close, a major
extinction wiped out much of the world's megafauna, including some of the hominid species,
such as Neanderthals. All the continents were affected, but Africa to a lesser extent. The
continent retains many large animals, such as hippos.[17]
The Holocene began 12,000 years ago and lasts until to present day. Also known as "the Age of
Man", the Holocene is marked by the rise of man on his path to sentience. All recorded history
and "the history of the world" lies within the boundaries of the Holocene epoch.[18] Human activity
is blamed for a mass extinction that began roughly 10,000 years ago, though the species
becoming extinct have only been recorded since the Industrial Revolution. This is sometimes
referred to as the "Sixth Extinction". 322 species have become extinct due to human activity
since the Industrial Revolution.[19][20]

Tectonics[edit]
Geologically, the Cenozoic is the era when the continents moved into their current
positions. Australia-New Guinea, having split from Pangea during the early Cretaceous, drifted
north and, eventually, collided with 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 with the isthmus of Panama.
India collided with Asia 55 to 45 million years ago creating the Himalayas; Arabia collided with
Eurasia, closing the Tethys ocean and creating the Zagros Mountains, around35 million years
ago.[21]

Climate[edit]
The PaleoceneEocene Thermal Maximum of 55.8 million years ago was a significant global
warming event; however, since the Azolla event of 49 million years ago, the Cenozoic Era has
been a period of long-term cooling. After the tectonic creation of Drake Passage, when South
America 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 cooling trend continued in theMiocene, with relatively short warmer periods. 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,[22] eventually
leading to the glaciations of the Quaternary ice age, the current interglacial of which is
the HoloceneEpoch. Recent analysis of the geomagnetic reversal frequency, oxygen isotope
record, and tectonic plate subduction rate, which are indicators of the changes in the heat flux at
the core mantle boundary, climate and plate tectonic activity, shows that all these changes
indicate similar rhythms on million years timescale in the Cenozoic Era occurring with the
common fundamental periodicity of 13 Myr during most of the time.[23]

Life[edit]
During the Cenozoic, mammals proliferated from a few small, simple, generalized forms into a
diverse collection of terrestrial, marine, and flying animals, giving this period its other name, the
Age of Mammals, despite the fact that birds still outnumbered mammals two to one. The
Cenozoic is just as much the age of savannas, the age of co-dependentflowering
plants and insects, and the age of birds.[24] Grass also played a very important role in this era,
shaping the evolution of the birds and mammals that fed on it. One group that diversified
significantly in the Cenozoic as well were the snakes. Evolving in the Cenozoic, the variety of
snakes increased tremendously, resulting in many colubrids, following the evolution of their
current primary prey source, the rodents.
In the earlier part of the Cenozoic, the world was dominated by the gastornid birds,
terrestrial crocodiles like Pristichampsus, and a handful of primitive large mammal groups
likeuintatheres, mesonychids, and pantodonts. But as the forests began to recede and the
climate began to cool, other mammals took over.
The Cenozoic is full of mammals both strange and familiar,
including chalicotheres, creodonts, whales, primates, entelodonts, saber-toothed
cats, mastodons and mammoths,three-toed horses, giant rhinoceros like Indricotherium, the
rhinoceros-like brontotheres, various bizarre groups of mammals from South America, such as
the vaguely elephant-like pyrotheres and the dog-like marsupial relatives called borhyaenids and
the monotremes and marsupials of Australia.