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Jan 1, 1111
Paleogene Period, 65-23 MYA
The Paleogene Period was the first period of the Cenozoic era and lasted around 43 million years. It consists of the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene epochs.
The Paleogene period had no dinosaurs, this allowed for the evolution of mammals from simple forms to a large group of diverse and developed animals because of the lack of large predators that previously threatened the mammals.
The climate changed from the previous humid, warm conditions to a cooler and drier environment. -
Neogene Period, 23-2.6 MYA
This period inlcludes the miocene and the Pliocene epochs. The Neogene period covers only 20 million years which makes it the shortest of all the eras.
During this period mammals and birds evoloved into more modern day forms, early hominids appeared in Africa.
Some continental movement took place in this period. The global climate cooled considerabley which led to many continental glaciations throughout the globe. -
Quaternary Period., 2.6 MYA - present
The quaternary period can be divided into two epochs, the Pleistocene and the Holocene which continues today.
This period shows the time in which recognizanble humans existed. In this period, there has been close to no changes in the spacial distribution of continents due to plate tectonics.
The Quaternary period involved large changes in it's climate. The entire period is reffered to as an ice age as it involved over 60 periods of glacial expansion that were seperated by brief warm periods.
