Mammal Takeover!: Journey through the Cenozoic Era
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
CENOZOIC ERA CRETACEOUS JURASSIC As we saw when we visited the Cretaceous Ckruh TAY Shuss the last period of the Mesozoic era a mass extinction has just occurred MESOZOIC ERA TRIASSIC PALEOZOIC ERA It wiped out marine reptiles like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs as well as the non avian dinosaurs Non avian not a bird here meaning all dinosaurs that aren't birds which are a kind of dinosaur But in an extinction not everything dies out and my personal favorite creatures Pterosaurs TEAR a soars FINALLY MY DAY HAS COME 8
UGH I'M SO HUNGRY YEAH WHERE'D ALL THE TASTY TREES Go If you're small and have a more varied diet it's easier to survive on the meager plants and bugs that are left after the devastation I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE WHINING ABOUT I'VE GOT PLENTY OF GRUBS It's much harder for large animals that have more specific dietary needs to get enough of their usual foods so they don't tend to survive Eventually the world bounces back and both plants and animals adapt to the new environment That means there's more food available to sustain larger animals And thus larger animals evolve from the small animals that survived the extinction filling the empty niches with new and interesting critters You remember what a niche is right Where an animal lives what it eats and what eats it 9
