Mammal Takeover!: Journey through the Cenozoic Era
Compost Oh are you interested in learning about the origins of our modern era Would you like to see how the animals we share the world with came to be and how we ourselves hopped down from the trees and started building society as we know it That does sound like a very educational and exciting and warm journey so yes Show me these ancestors so I can yell at them for not evolving to be warmer in cold weather Then let us away Wow it's not even a trash can this time How lovely Oh I see After you Sorry Ronnie I don't make the Science Magic rules Well at least it doesn't have actual trash in it like last time
Before We begin our journey let's set the stage The strange time before the dinosaurs is called the Paleozoic era PALEOZOIC then came the Mesozoic era which is when dinosaurs and mammals evolved MESOZOIC CENOZOIC and the third and final era is called the Cenozoic SEE nun 20 ik It's the shortest of the eras of life starting 66 million years ago and continuing to present day For reference dinosaurs ruled the world for about 175 million years So 66 million is not much by comparison I guess this is You'd think but the gonna be a quick Cenozoic is jam packed visit then with interesting critters There are going to be so many amazing things to see FIRST Cran DINOSAUR GG MYA 5
Pliocene Pleistocene Holocene quaternary Instead of just visiting the main periods of the Cenozoic which are the Paleogene NEOGENE PALEOGENE Neogene and Quaternary we'll be stopping in each of the seven epochs CEH Poks in the Cenozoic OLIGOCENE MIOCENE EOCENE PALEOCENE Each one holds an important development that shaped the world as we know it We can't miss out on any of that sweet action Hold on there are even more ways to divide up time Yes indeed each period of each era is divided into epochs PALEOGENE PERIOD OF THE CENOZOIC ERA PALEOCENE EOCENE EPOCH it goes on and on These subdivisions make it easier for people who study these things to be specific about which exact window of time they're studying and discussing OLIGOCENE EPOCH EPOCH MIOCENE EPOCH NEOGENE PERIOD YOU KNOW DURING THE AQUITANIAN There are so many names to remember and those epochs can be even further divided into stages AH YES I KNOW IT WELL Which is important when the creatures that lived in one window of time can be totally different from their descendants that lived just one million Years later But don't worry about remembering all the names I've been to these times and I still need a cheat sheet T.REX I ONLY EXISTED FOR LIKE 2 MILLION YEARS SO SAYING I LIVED DURING THE CRETACEOUS IS DEFINITELY NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH What matters more are the wondrous plants and animals that made these epochs distinct and I can't wait for you to meet them 6
PAY-LEE-UH-SEEN Europe PALEOCENE Which brings us to our first stop in the Cenozoic 59 million years ago during the EPOCH OF THE PALEOGENT PERIOD ASIA The seven continents aren't separate quite yet meaning animals can still cross between most of them NORTH AMERICA AFRICA INDIA SOUTH AMERICA AUSTRALIA ANTARCTICA
