bbc.co.uk navigation

Various mammal species that existed during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs

Palaeocene epoch

The Paleocene epoch was a time of dense forests and evolutionary experiments. The extinction of the dinosaurs and other giant reptiles at the end of the Cretaceous paved the way for mammals and birds to evolve to fill those empty niches, so many new creatures appeared. During the Paleocene the island continent of India moved north and collided with Asia. At the end of the epoch, an abrupt rise in temperature across the planet made the climate much wetter and caused a sea level rise.

Began: Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction
65 million years ago

Ended: 54.8 million years ago

Causes of extinctions

During this period the following extinction level events are thought to have occurred.

Flood basalt eruptions Flood basalt eruptions
Flood basalt eruptions are a type of large-scale volcanic activity, both in terms of extent and duration, that can occur on land or on the ocean floor. A flood basalt may continue to erupt for tens of thousands - possibly millions - of years and the lava can cover hundreds of thousands of kilometres.

Types of fossils formed in this period

Trace fossils Trace fossils
It's not only the actual bodily remains of dead animals and plants that can become fossils. Things created or left behind by animals can also fossilise, such as their footprints, burrows and dung.

About

The Paleocene (symbol Pε ) or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago. It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. As with most other older geologic periods, the strata that define the epoch's beginning and end are well identified but the exact date of the end is uncertain.

The Paleocene Epoch immediately followed the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous, known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, which marks the demise of non-avian dinosaurs, the giant marine reptiles and much other fauna and flora. The die-off of the dinosaurs left unfilled ecological niches worldwide, and the name "Paleocene" comes from Greek and refers to the "old(er)" (παλαιός, palaios) – "new" (καινός, kainos) fauna that arose during the epoch.

Read more at Wikipedia

This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.

Geological time

  1. Origin of the Earth 4.6 billion years ago
  2. Archean era
  3. Cryogenian period
  4. Ediacaran period
  5. Cambrian period
  6. Ordovician period
  7. Silurian period
  8. Devonian period
  9. Carboniferous period
  10. Permian period
  11. Triassic period
  12. Jurassic period
  13. Cretaceous period
  14. Palaeocene epoch
  15. Eocene epoch
  16. Oligocene epoch
  17. Miocene epoch
  18. Pliocene epoch
  19. Pleistocene epoch
  20. Holocene epoch
  21. Present day

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.