Paleogene Period

Cretaceous Period - Paleogene Period - Neogene Period

The Paleogene Period is the first period of the Cenozoic Era, and the tenth of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Paleogene period begins with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which killed off the non-avian dinosaurs, the pterosaurs, and many groups of large marine reptiles, and ends with the base of the magnetic polarity chronozone C6Cn.2n.

For the most part, the Paleogene climate was cool and dry, a state of being that continues to the present day, with only an occasional disruption. The formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current caused this change from the hot and humid Mesozoic climate to occur.

Mammals began to diversify rapidly during the Paleogene, and many modern groups, including the cetaceans and the primates evolved during this period. Birds rapidly evolved as well, as the absence of the pterosaurs left them as the dominant species of the skies. The first grass species had formed, leading to the formation of new types of ecosystems, including savannas and prairies. Tropical plants were restricted to the equatorial regions due to earth's cooling process.

The Paleogene is subdivided into three epochs: the Paleocene, the Eocene, and the Oligocene.

Paleogene Timescale:

Paleogene Period - 66-23.03 MYA

-Paleocene Epoch - 66-56 MYA

--Danian Age - 66-61.6 MYA

--Selandian Age - 61.6-59.2 MYA

--Thanetian Age - 59.2-56 MYA

-Eocene Epoch - 56-33.9 MYA

--Ypresian Age - 56-47.8 MYA

--Lutetian Age - 47.8-41.03 MYA

--Bartonian Age - 41.03-37.97 MYA

--Priabonian Age - 37.97-33.9 MYA

-Oligocene Age - 33.9-23.03 MYA

--Rupelian Age - 33.9-28.1 MYA

--Chattian Age - 28.1-23.03 MYA